Gone
by Sanin Sakura
Summary: He betrayed the village. She faked her own death. Imprisoned both, now a single plan can free them from punishment, but how long can they last free from their feelings. What can unite two exact opposites and keep them together? Love or nothing? R
1. An Imminent Battle

_**Inner**_

_**Sakura talking to inner**_

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"_Please don't leave me ! I love you!"_

"_Sakura… thank-you" thump_

**Flashback over**

"Why does that stupid memory keep on haunting me?" the pink hair, jade eyed beauty wondered. "Stupid Sasuke. What's that supposed to mean? Thank you for what?" For Sakura these two years since Sasuke had left, had been torture. Not only did she always think about Sasuke and his stupid last words, but the current Hokage, Tsunade, made her train like hell. When she wasn't training her butt off with Tsunade, she had her shifts in the hospital.

She began walking away from where she was at; the Team Seven training grounds. This place always brought her all the memories she had shared with the team. Now, the team had split up. Sasuke, of course, had gone to Orochimaru's layer and there was no trace of him to track him down.

Naruto, The Number One Hyperactive Knucklehead Ninja, had left soon after to train with the Toad Sage, Jiraiya. Word was, they traveled around in different places. If someone tried to look for them, they would be nowhere to be found.

Then there was their Sense Kakashi, aka the pervert. Sakura and him sometimes saw each other, not much though. He was always busy with missions that were assigned to him.

That left her. She wanted to help Naruto bring back Sasuke, but back then, she admitted, she had only been a burden. She had had to search for her own teacher, the Hokage. Thanks to her, she was considered to be one of the best kunoichis the Leaf Village had. Sure she had also made many friends, including the rookie team and Gai's team, but she missed her own team. Besides, everyone else always had missions with their teams. She was the only one who had no team.

Thinking about her team, she ended up in their,(more like Naruto's) favorite place to eat; Ichiruku Ramen Shop. Most of the time he was the one who had forced, almost dragged, them to go eat there.

Sakura was totally in her old memories world, she didn't notice Shizune running straight toward her until they bumped into each other.

"Oww…" they both said at the same time while rubbing their heads. "Sakura, I'm glad I (literally) bumped into you. Lady Tsunade would like to see you immediately, please hurry," Shizune informed her.

"Okay," Sakura replied. At lightning speed, she left jumping from roof top to roof top to avoid all people. In other words fan boys. Yes, over the years people said Tsunade's inhuman strength wasn't the only thing she had passed down to Sakura. Tsunade had passed down the looks too. Fan boys seemed to stalk her 24/7; especially Rock Lee. He declared his 'never ending youthful love' for her everyday he had the chance.

In a couple of minutes, she was outside the Hokage's office, awaiting for the matter that was so important. After a come in, she walked in to see Tsunade buried under tons of paper work like always.

"Sakura…" the Hokage hesitated in continuing. "It's Orochimaru… he's coming in for an attack along with Sasuke, sound ninja, and many other allies of his. I'm not sure that this time we can defeat them. Jiraiya and Naruto are still away training so we can't rely on them. That's all. It was just a heads up so you can be ready. If you want to run away, don't worry no one will blame you for doing so. The odds are against us," Tsunade explained immediately cutting to the issue.

"We can't just give up. We still have many skilled ninja on our side. We can and will fend off the enemy," Sakura optimized.

"Sakura, chances of us winning are slim we are outnumbered. Quit being so optimistic," Tsunade screamed while punching her desk so hard and breaking it in half. It wasn't like she had meant to, sometimes her anger got the best of her and she couldn't control even her own strength. "Orochimaru has always had a sick obsession with destroying the village and nothing can stop him when his mind is set on something."

Sakura's hope was sinking but she didn't let it. She walked out and slammed the door and because of her strength equal if not surpassing her sensei, the door fell on the floor.

"Look at this place. The war has not even started and everything is falling apart already," Tsunade sighed as she looked from her desk to the door.

* * *

Sakura ran not caring about anything else but getting to her house and getting all of the right supplies to be ready for the imminent battle.

_**He's coming back but not for us. It's to grind the Hidden Leaf Village into dust.**_

_**We'll kick his sorry ass before he can even touch anyone. He will be sorry for leaving us all alone in a dark, cold bench. I mean some bastard could have raped us. CHA! **_

_**I hope we can stop him. Who knows how strong he's gotten. For all we know he could kill us in mere seconds.**_

_**Come on! He may have trained under the snake Orochimaru, but we trained under the Hokage. One of the Legendary Sannin.**_

_**You now, Orochimaru is also one of the Legendary Sannin.**_

_**So!!**_

As the argument went on in her head, Sakura packed everything she needed. As soon as she was ready packing healing and fighting supplies, Sakura left her small apartment, or to her, her home.

She climbed on top of a tree with the chakra training technique Kakashi had taught Team Seven during their mission to the land of waves (?) to get a better view of where the enemy was coming from. On top she, at last, let agony drown her.

"Oh, Naruto. I wish you were here. You would send all of sound crying back to were they came from and make that asshole Sasuke stay here. I know you would. Sasuke why'd you have to leave?"

Suddenly, a presence was felt behind her. She felt chills run down her spine. "For strength to complete my revenge, that is why," it said.

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Short? Yes, I know. This is my first story so please review and tell me what you thought about it. The story will get heaps better, but you have to review.


	2. The War

**To all of the readers out there who are actually taking their precious time to read this: I have no idea what all of the jutsus are called or anything. I truly suck at fighting scenes. I am sorry if I somehow offend anyone.**

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Thoughts

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Recap

Suddenly, a presence was felt behind her. She felt chills run down her spine. "For strength to complete my revenge, that is why," it said.

**End of Recap.**

* * *

"Sasuke," a surprised Sakura said.

"Did you miss me?" his voice full of sarcasm taunted. At that moment, Sasuke punched her and sent her flying through many trees.

_So the fight for the Leaf Village begins__, _Sakura thought as she went flying through the dense Forest of Death. The Forest of Death; the place where all of this misery had began. The place where Orochimaru made his fist appearance to Team Seven. The place where they had learned of his evil pedophilic intentions.

Sakura crashed through quite a few trees and Sasuke followed. Sakura quickly regained her balance and took a fighting stance.

"So you think you can take me? Let me see you try," Sasuke said as he took out his katana. He stood firmly and unemotionally knowing he could take anything she would throw at him.

"I don't think, I know, you asshole. Just you watch, I'm going to make you regret leaving me all alone and going with Orochimaru," she threatened while putting on her gloves and gathering chakra at the same time. As soon as she was ready, she launched kunai at him. Sasuke easily avoided it by moving his head sideways. The kunai just passed beside him. Sakura used this as a distraction move and ran toward him with chakra loaded fists.

CRASH! BANG!

* * *

"Lady Tsunade, look that way. Someone has already began to fight," Shizune pointed out.

"Already," Tsunade wondered. She looked out the window. Somewhere in the Forest of Death smoke was emitting.

"Tsunade, long time no see," Orochimaru came into view and said with his sickening smile. He stood on top of one of his pet snakes outside the huge office window.

"You!" Tsunade screamed. "What do you want? Why are you here?" She stood up from her chair abruptly making it fall on the floor and prepared herself for any dirty moves the pedophile…I mean Orochimaru would make.

"I told you two years ago when I wanted you to heal my arms and I would bring your dear little brother and beloved back to life. Too bad you refused my offer. Now you get nothing but death. Kabuto!" He called on him.

"Yes, Lord Orochimaru," Kabuto immediately appeared as he pushed his glasses up his nose.

"Take care of Tsunade's assistant for me, will you? I'll take care of my ex-teammate."

"Take care of this!" Tsunade shouted as she punched him in the face with a chakra full fist and sent him flying.

Orochimaru fell from his snake onto the floor with blood on his mouth. "My! Aren't we a little too anxious to get this over with. It doesn't matter the sooner I can take over this pathetic piece of shit you call a village," he said as he stood up. He wiped the blood that was seeping out from his mouth.

Orochimaru and Tsunade both did hand signs and summoned their respective summoning: Orochimaru- Manda and Tsunade - Katsuyu.

"Well look who we have here it's the slug," Manda hissed. "I see Gamabunta is not here. Less fun for me, but this will be a lot easier."

CRASH!

* * *

"You know, no matter how much you try, you will always be the pathetic little fangirl you once were," Sasuke taunted. "I still cant believe someone actually took the time to train you."

"Grrrr." the girl growled.

Sakura threw kunai at Sasuke which he easily dodged again. He did some hand signs and shouted, "Fire Style: Fire Phoenix Jutsu," and fire engulfed the whole area. When the fire cleared, he looked around for the girl. "What the Fuck… she isn't here," and as fast as he said that Sakura appeared behind him and punched him as hard as she could in the gut. Sasuke fell on the floor and coughed up blood. He tried to stand up but he couldn't. "Damn! Sakura must have paralyzed me somehow," he whispered to himself. "I have to figure out how to move my body before she comes and tries to finish me off. Oh Shit! She's coming!"

* * *

Orochimaru and Tsunade continued to fight, exchanging blow for blow. This war seemed to have no end. The two were already bleeding profusely. Their summonings had already banished because of their chakra loss.

"Tsunade, you are going down!"

"The Leaf Village Elders chose me as Hokage for a reason. I will show you the reason. I will defeat you and get rid of you once and for all. Sarutobi Sensei's wish will finally be completed."

"The old man deserved to die as do you." Then they both started to fight again.

* * *

The fight with Shizune wasn't going so well. She was losing to Kabuto.

"I can't let Lady Tsunade down. I promise that I will defeat him. The problem is that he keeps on regenerating his cells. How am I supposed to defeat him like that? No matter I will find a way." Kabuto was charging straight toward her with a kunai. She took one out of her own.

* * *

"_Is this the end? Will I not complete my goal? _Sasuke wondered as Sakura got closer to him.

Sakura lifted up a kunai high above her head, ready to aim down at the last Uchiha. Thump! The kunai fell on the floor.

"I can't do this. I love you Sasuke. Why'd you have to leave? You could have became stronger here without you having to leave? Why? Answer me!" Sakura screamed as salty, wet tears started to roll down her pale face.

_What a fool! This is my time to distract her until I can move again. _Sasuke thought.

"Sakura you know why I left. Going with Orochimaru seemed to be my best option at the time. But I regret it now that I have seen how strong you have gotten. I will stay here and help you fend off Orochimaru," the Uchiha replied.

_Great I can move again it's time to…_

"Really?" Sakura inquired as a smile brightened her face.

"No!" Sasuke said as he kicked her away from him and grabbed her fallen kunai. He disappeared and reappeared behind her holding her own kunai on her neck. "Pathetic, I can't believe you fell for that and you are supposed to be a ninja. Now you will pay the price."

"Fine. Do what you must. I accept death with open arm. I have nothing to live for; not any more."

_Damn! How come I can't bring myself to kill her. Those eyes thy are so…She's...No! She is the enemy…kill her! _

Punch!

Sakura crashed into more trees. As she stood up she said, "You know, some time ago, during a mission, I met your brother, Itachi. The resemblance you two hold is unreal. Sasuke, little by little, you are becoming exactly like him: your attitude and appearance. It's frightening to think about it."

"SHUT UP! YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING!" Sasuke yelled and with all his strength he punched her.

"AHHHH!" the shouts of villagers rang through her ears. She looked straight at the last Uchiha. She knew she had to finish this somehow.

_I'm too weak. Why can't I ever do anything right? This is the end. _Sakura started to cry. _If you want to run away, don't worry no one will blame you for doing so. _The words of her sensei telling her rang through her head. Suddenly a look of determination crossed her face.

"Fire Style: Fire Ball Jutsu," Sasuke yelled.

_No! It's too late._ Sakura did some hand signs.The red-orange flame drew closer to her. The fire engulfed her whole body. _Good-Bye Leaf Village._

"Sasuke, we need help," a random sound ninja announced. Sasuke left the girl lying in the ground unmoving. Her body burned from the blast. _I hope I didn't hurt you too bad, Sakura. _

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So what do you think please review. Thank-you.


	3. The War's End

**I forgot last time so… I want to thank my very first reviewer ever (drum sound) **fantasy4luvr**. Hugs and kisses.**

**Oh and the disclaimer. **

**I **_**do **_**own Naruto. (NOT)**

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Thoughts_

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"Sasuke, we need help," a random sound ninja announced. Sasuke left the girl lying in the ground unmoving. _I hope I didn't hurt you too bad, Sakura. _

* * *

"Orochimaru, your time to die is now!" Tsunade warned. "You forgot one thing, I can heal myself and you can't." 

"No!"

"Die!" Tsunade Screamed already aiming down on him with a very deadly attack. (Please don't ask me what it is or what it's called because even I don't know)

At that moment, Sasuke appeared to throw her attack off and stopped her. "You don't look so well, Orochimaru. Anyone could kill you right now… especially me."

_Is he turning against him?_ Tsunade wondered.

"You can't, Sasuke, you want power, and I'm the only one who can give it to you," Orochimaru taunted.

"Hn. Let's retreat. We've done enough damages. Besides, you aren't looking to good."

"Okay, we'll retreat. Go inform Kabuto. As for you Tsunade… until next time." and with those words he disappeared.

"Wait! Uchiha!" Tsunade screamed.

Sasuke didn't listen. Instead he just went to look for four eyes. As soon as Sasuke left, Tsunade fell on the floor, exhausted. She the started to heal her wounds.

* * *

"Kabuto!" (AKA four eyes) Sasuke shouted. "Stop fighting. We have to retreat." 

_What? _Shizune wondered.

"Why! I'm having fun here," Kabuto replied.

"Those are Orochimaru's orders," Sasuke informed him. Then they both disappeared.

_Oh no! What if they killed Lady Tsunade? I have to go check what is going on. _As she tried to stand up, she fell back down due to chakra loss.

"Calm down, Shizune. But they did something. I have no idea what, though. I think it's something bad," Tsunade explained. _Sound is leaving._

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Hours later 

"Lady Tsunade, the village didn't suffer many damages. Not very many Leaf Shinobi died, either," an ambu explained.

"Good, but we'll still hold a ceremony for those who did died," Tsunade informed him. "Oh! And while you are here go look for Sakura. I need to talk to her."

"Yes."

_I wonder where she is and why she hasn't reported to me._

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More Hours Later 

"Lady Tsunade. It's Sakura she's no where to be found. We've looked everywhere," the ambu reported.

"Hey! Old lady," Konohamaru ran into the Hokage's office.

"It's you squirt. What do you want? Don't you see I'm in the middle of something," the 5th Hokage scolded.

"It's just that, we found Sakura and she's not moving," he explained.

"What?" Tsunade and Konohamaru quickly ran out of the tower.

"Wait!" after some time of running Konohamaru shouted.

"What?"

"You are running in the wrong direction. You don't even know were she is."

"Oops, okay lead the way."

"Right."

They both kept on running until they arrived at the site of battle. When Tsunade saw her, she was shocked. She was covered in blood and had burn marks everywhere. She wasn't moving. Her skin was pale. Tsunade quickly kneeled next to her and checked for a pulse. Her eyes widened and a look of utter devastation crossed her face.

"Sakura… Sakura's… dead," she said. (enter dramatic theme music here)

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Next Time in **__**Gone**_

"Haahaahaahaahaahaahaa! Konohamaru laughed. "That's a good one, you old hag, but don't you think you are a little too old to be telling jokes."

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Okay that is it for now. ****Please remember to review. ****I want to know how my story is going. I don't care if your review is good or bad as long as you have a reason to say it's bad I'm okay with it.** **Also I have been receiving e-mails that authors have added my story to their alerts. I've you have read this story just type a freaking review. It won't take loger than one minute. At least tell me to update or something.**

**I would also like some guesses to what is going on. I just want to see who can get it right.**

**I just remembered how I posted the same chapter twice. If you actually saw this... oopsy. I am new here. I hardly even know what I am doing. Sorry.**


	4. Funeral Blues

_thoughts_

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Recap:**

"Sakura… Sakura's… dead," she said.

End of Recap.

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"Haahaahaahaahaahaahaa!" Konohamaru laughed. "That is a good one. Tsunade, but don't you think you are a little too old to be telling jokes? I mean you…" he stopped at mid-sentence to see the Hokage crying over the the body of her student. At that moment he knew it was no joke. "This can't be." 

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Tsunade screamed "Sakura!"

* * *

It was a dark, rainy day. The heavens themselves seemed to be crying over the death of the Leaf Village's beloved Cheery Blossom. It was the day of Sakura's and all Leaf shinobi were present. 

"This day…is forlorn. We have come here to commemorate those who gave up their live for the well-being and prosperity of the village. I personally knew someone who died…Sakura. Most of you were familiar with her. She was my apprentice and to me… my daughter. She didn't deserve this," Tsunade sobbed.

Kakashi was next to speak. "Sakura…she was also like a daughter to me. One of my most brilliant students." He stopped speaking and moved away from there because even though he didn't show it, he was being torn into pieces in the inside.

One by one all ninja stepped forward to place their respects for the fallen shinobi. Then they all departed.

* * *

"Hey, aren't you the Hokage? What's a pretty, lady like you doing in a place like this?" a drunken man asked. 

"Get lost," Tsunade said as she took a drink of sake.

"I just didn't think the mighty Hokage would be in a bar like this one."

"Well stop thinking and get lost. Unless you want to find out what happens when people cross me. I don't feel like dealing with this right now."

The man started shaking and quickly left her alone.

_Sakura. How will Naruto react to this. He's going to hate me for the rest o f his life. First he loses his family. Then just when he gets a new "family" he loses it too. First Uchiha and now Sakura. I'm sorry Naruto. She started crying. "I couldn't help Miwaki or Dawn_ (i think those are their names if not then sorry)_ and now her._

"Lady Tsunade, I knew I'd find you here."

"Leave me alone Shizune."

"It's sad, I know, but we haveto move on. Life keeps on going. I, myself, had grown fond of Sakura… and now this happens. Who could she have fought that left her in such a bad shape?"

_We've done enough damages, _Sasuke's words echoed in Tsunade's mind.

_It could have been him. He knows fire style jutsu's and she had burn marks all over her. That's it! It was him. _"Uchiha!" she said as she gripped her cup so hard it broke cutting her hand. Blood ran down it, but the pain was nothing compared to the one she was feeling inside.

"Uchiha, what?" Shizune asked.

"Let's go Shizune."

"Wait! You didn't answer my question."

"Forget about it."

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Some place far away 

"Hey, Pervy Sage," Naruto said.

"What?" Jiraiya replied.

"Well, I've been getting this feeling that something's wrong."

"Don't worry about it. Just focus on your training for now." _Although, I've been getting that same feeling myself. _

"Yeah but…"

"Look, I'm the teacher here. You are the student and what do students do?"

"Listen to their teachers and not question them," he said with a bored tone.

"Right! Looks like I have taught you something so far. Now stay here and practice your…um…aiming while I go do some research." _…with the ladies its been quite a long time since I've published my last book._

"Pervert," Naruto whispered.

"I heard that but I'll just ignore that. I have much better things to do that to argue here with you."

"At this rate, I'm not going to get much stronger," Naruto whined.

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Two years later 

"Naruto, do you feel that. Feels like Akatsuki. Their chakra levels are so high."

"Huh."

"Shh! Come on, this way. Mask your chakra."

"Hey! That's not Akatsuki! It's some one else, but I can't tell who it is. Wait. I think I see him. It's…"

"Who is it already?" Jiraiya demanded to know.

"Sasuke." Naruto ran out of their hiding place and confronted the last Uchiha.

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ok PLEASE REVIEW 


	5. An Unexpected Encounter

**Okay so I've tryed to write longer chapters but I just can't, but I promise that I will update soon.**

**For now just enjoy the story.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto but I know someone who does.**

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_Thoughts_

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RECAP:**

"Sasuke." Naruto ran out of their hiding place and confronted the last Uchiha.

**END OF RECAP**

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"Loser, what are you doing here?" Sasuke demande to know. 

"That's the same thing I was wondering…Sasuke." Naruto said.(Remember Naruto still doesn't know that Sasuke and the rest of Sound attacked the Leaf Village.) "Just you watch. Unlike last time I will take you back home. Believe it!"

"Like you can."

"Grr." Naruto growled.

"Naruto! Let's go. We aren't here for a fight." Jiraiya came out of their hiding spot and said.

_That's one of the Legendary Sannin,_ Sasuke thought, _So Naruto has been training with him._

"I'll find you one day and take you home, Sasuke. And I never go back on my word. Believe it!"

With that said both Naruto and Jiraiya jumped into the trees and left. They headed toward the direction of the Leaf Village. Suddenly, two strong chakras were felt right behind them.

_This isn't Uchiha. This is … stronger._

_

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Someone is following the loser and the toad sage. I'll just go check out who it is. Maybe like this I can go see Naruto's moves and be prepared for when he wants to fight me, _Sasuke thought.

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"Naruto, this time it is Akatsuki. Be prepared to fight." 

"Naruto, we'd like you to come with us," Itachi said as he arrive at Naruto's location.

_I can't look at his eyes otherwise he'll put me in a genjutsu with his sharingan like last time._

"Itachi, can I kill the sannin," Kisame queried as he took out his sword thing.

"Just don't die," Itachi warned. Both Naruto and Jiraiya got ready to fight when…

"Itachi!" Sasuke yelled. He was already powering up for the chidori.

"Well look who it is! It's your little, pathetic brother."

"Hn."

"I'm going to kill you," Sasuke threatened as he ran toward him.

_This is our chance! _"Naruto while he's destracted, let's make a run for it," Jiraiya said.

"What?! We can't leave Sasuke. We have to help him," Naruto whispered.

"Don't worry. He can take care of himself. Now let's go. There is no way we are going to fight them now. Besides, Sasuke is considered the enemy for being allied with Orochimaru."

They inconspicuous

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ly left. As soon as they were some distance away, Jiraiya broke the silence and said, "We still arent out of hot water, mask you chakra." 

Itachi dodged Sasuke but realized his strength had increased dramatically. "Foolish little brother…see what you've done. The kid left while you distracted us!" Itachi yelled as he no longer saw Naruto.

"Let's kill him!" Kisame said enthusiastically.

"No, we were just here for the nine tailed fox, but he's gone now. Let's leave."

"Fine."

They both left at lightning speed, leaving Sasuke quite confused.

_So they are after Naruto for the beast inside him._

* * *

"They are gone. We can relax and continue on to the Leaf Village." Jiraiya informed. 

"Right." _Sakura, wait till you see how strong I've become. I wonder how strong you are. Oh well, all that matters now is that I'm going home the Village Hidden in the Leaves._

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**I know this is pretty low but… (gets down on knees) PLEASE REVIEW.**

**Thank you in advance.**


	6. Where's Sakura?

**Wow last chapter…that was pretty low of me. But I wanted you to review.**

**Disclaimer: Of course I own Naruto. (If you could hear me say it, you would notice the sarcasm in my voice.)**

**Anyway enjoy the story and remember to review.**

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Thoughts_**

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RECAP:**

_I'm going home, the Village Hidden in the Leaves._

**END OF RECAP**

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"You two, identify yourselves!"

"Are you talking to us?"

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"Lady Tsunade, we've heard that they're coming," Shizune announced.

"Who?"

"Jiraiya and Naruto!"

A look of sadness crossed the Hokage's face. _How am I supposed to tell them? Sakura…why did you have to die. _"As soon as they get here, send them into my office. Tell them it is urgent."

"Are you going to tell them about her?"

"There's no choice. I have to. They would find out either way. Oh and Shizune, go tell all of the people that know Naruto that she died in a mission not that the village was attacked."

"Yes but why not tell them that it was Sasuke like you told me?"

"It would create chaos. Naruto would want to go after Sasuke and kill him. In the process, he would most likely end up getting killed himself and I don't want to lose another person I care about. I'm not even sure it was him. Besides, Uchiha is like a brother to Naruto. Maybe if he ever decides to come back, he'd tell him why he did it when we explained everything to Naruto. We could convice him not to hurt him, at least until we got the answers we need."

"Right."

"Thank-you, Shizune."

* * *

Shizune quickly ran out of the tower and told the ordeal to Kiba, Shikamaru, Neji, and Rock Lee. While Shizune scurried to the Leaf Village gates, each one went to inform all the people they knew. Kiba, Shikamaru, Neji, and Rock Lee soon finished telling everyone and went back home.

* * *

"Yes, you. Who else is here?" a ninja's voice said.

_Who could that be_, Shizune wondered.

"Oh, I am…"

"Master Jiraiya, Naruto! You are finally here," Shizune went and hugged them. "Don't worry about it. They are expected in Lady Tsunade's office," she informed the guard at the gates.

"No, no, no! I have to go see Sakura," Naruto said and ran to what he once knew as Sakura's house_. I know what I'm going to do! I'll invite Sakura to some Ramen. She won't refuse. I know it. _

"Is that Naruto?" people wondered along the way.

"Knock, knock! Sakura open up. It's me, Naruto! Sakura…"

Creak! The door opened to reveal…

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"He's still doesn't listen. So, Shizune, why does Tsunade want to talk about? How have you two been?" Jiraiya interrogated as he walked alongside Shizune toward the Hokage tower.

"I'll let Lady Tsunade tell you, but it looks like now we have to wait until Naruto catches up with us. I really doubt Lady Tsunade will want to explain twice."

Jiraiya looked sideways and noticed Tsunade's head carved into the Hokage monument. "So I see she has gained quiet a reputation, or else the elders would not have agreed to put her head there."

"Yes, Master Jiraiya."

After a long, quiet walk, they arrived at the entrance of the tower. They opened the door and found Tsunade sitting by her desk with piles of paper work and lots of empty sake bottles. Her eyes were red, but as soon as Jiraiya and Shizune came in, she put a fake smile on. _Be strong Tsunade,_ she told herself. Jiraiya quickly noticed this and felt concerned.

"Tsunade, what happened," he queried.

Tsunade not wanting to repeat herself took a sip of sake and put her head on her desk with out saying anything.

"Master Jiraiya, you'll have to wait until Naruto gets here."

"Where's the little fool?" Tsunade asked with out lifting up her head from her desk for fear that they would see the tears rolling down her cheeks. Yet her voice remained calm.

"He went to Sakura's house," Shizune responded.

After the answer was heard, Tsunade was quiet and didn't say another word.

_Something must be really wrong if she's like this._

* * *

"Hey you aren't Sakura!" What are you doing here?" Naruto exclaimed.

"Kid, I think you have the wrong address," the lady said.

"Ooops, I forgot that Sakura move away from here. Sorry!" Once again, Naruto began to run like there was no tomorrow toward Sakura's house. "Okay, if I remember correctly, this is where she lived before I left. Knock, knock!"

As the door opened, Naruto was shocked to see Rock Lee standing inside.

"Bushy Brows, what are you doing in Sakura's house. Don't tell me you two are going out? Wow, have things really changed that much? Enough with that, I'll ask her later. I'm here to talk to Sakura."

"I'm sorry Naruto. I live here now," Lee said with sadness in his voice.

"Hey! Just because there may be a chance you are dating her, doesn't mean I can't see her anymore!"

"No, Naruto. I think you may need to want to talk with Lady Tsunade."

"But…" Before he could say anything else, Lee closed the door. _I think I really need to go see Grandma Tsunade. Bushy Brows, who is usually really happy, looked sad. He didn't even say anything about 'youthfulness'. _

He shivered at the thought of the word. Naruto ran to the Hokage tower and was there in no time. He quickly went up the steps and when he was by the door, he opened it and screamed, "Grandma Tsunade, what was so important, where is Sakura?" he questioned in a rather too cheerful voice.

He looked around and saw Jiraiya sitting in a chair quietly and Tsunade laying her head on her desk looking like something horrible had happened.

"What's going on?" he asked more quietly.

As Tsunade lifted up her head, she said, "I'll get to the point. Sakura…she's…dead." Tsunade cried, no longer worried about who saw her.

**

* * *

Yay long Chapter! Please review. I know you can all find that button down there. Hey were did it go? Oh never mind it's there. PLEASE REVIEW :)**


	7. Acceptance

**Okay. So I don't know if they have cemeteries in the actual anime but in my story there is going to be one. Just a heads up. **

**Disclaimer: Naruto is not mine.**

**Enjoy the Story.**

_

* * *

Thoughts_**

* * *

Recap:**

As Tsunade lifted up her head, she said, "I'll get to the point. Sakura…she's…dead." Tsunade cried, no longer worried about who saw her.

End of Recap.

* * *

"What?!!" Jiraiya wondered not wanting to believe her, thinking he had heard wrong.

"Hahahaha," Naruto laughed nervously. "What's next, her coming out of her hiding place and screaming 'they fell for it!' and laughing?"

"No." Tsunade said.

"This is hard to understand, but Lady Tsunade is telling the truth," Shizune explained.

"How?" Jiraiya inquired.

"I sent her on a mission. They were attacked and she was killed while trying to save the others," she quickly explained.

"Did anyone else die?" Jiraiya interrogated.

"No."

"Who…who were the idiot who went with her and let her die? Who was it that killed her," Naruto screamed.

"Ino and Shikamaru went with her, but as for who attacked them we are unsure of," she quickly said the names that came into her mind.

"I'm going to make them pay for that!"

"No, Naruto, it wasn't their fault."

"I bet you are defending them because it's your entire fault. You aren't even fit to be the Hokage. A drunken gambler; that's who we have as our leader. Just because you are the granddaughter of the fist Hokage and one of the Legendary Sannin doesn't mean you can be good at it." He started crying.

"Naruto… calm down," Jiraiya said with a stern voice.

"I'm out of here," Naruto said as he walked out, not wanting anyone to see him crying any longer. _Why does everyone leave me? Sasuke and Sakura_. He ran toward the cemetery.

* * *

In the office Tsunade cried even harder because of what Naruto had told her; thinking he was correct.

"Tsunade, calm down. You know he didn't mean any of what he said. Right now he's just perplexed, depressed, and… well he has mixed emotions to what is going on," Jiraiya comforted. As soon as she calmed down he queried, "So…what really happened? Don't lie to me. I can see it in your eyes."

"Master Jiraiya, I really don't think you should pressure her…" she was cut off by Tsunade.

"It's alright; I'll tell you what happened. Two years after you left to go train with Naruto, Orochimaru, the rest of Sound, and some allies of his attacked the village. Since the village was still not at one hundred percent, the war was really tough. In the end, we managed to drive them out, but Sakura was found dead."

"Who do you think killed her?"

"Uchiha could have been the only one. Sakura had been my apprentice for some time. She was strong. Orochimaru couldn't have done it because I was fighting him. Before Uchiha left, he said that they had 'done enough damages.' Besides, Uchiha knows fire jutsus and she had burn marks everywhere."

"Why did you lie to Naruto and me then?"

"Uchiha is like Naruto's brother. He'd be devastated to know it was him. If Uchiha ever decided that he wants to come back, maybe we can get the answers we need and want through him."

"I see."

* * *

After some running, Naruto arrived at the cemetery. Then something hit him; he didn't know where Sakura's grave was at. More tears began to roll down his cheeks.

"Why wasn't I here to protect you, Sakura? I wasn't even here for you funeral. What kind of friend am I? I'm useless.

He stayed in the cemetery trying to look for a tombstone that had her name. _Maybe Grandma Tsunade was joking that's why I can't find it. Yes, that's it. I ran out like a cry baby before she could tell me she was joking. I can't believe I fell for it. Sakura probably is on a mission. _Naruto stayed there thinking about all of the possibilities until someone tapped him on the shoulder.

"Hey! Sakura you are back from your mission!" he turned around and was disappointed to find Hinata. "Oh, Hinata, I'm sorry. I didn't know it was you. Hey, why are you here? Don't tell me someone you know has died."

"Actually, Naruto I'm going to visit Sakura…"

"Did she come back from her mission?"

"…Sakura's grave. These flowers are for her." She held up the flower for him to see. _I can't believe I'm this close to him._

Naruto's smile fade. "So… she really is dead. I know you wouldn't lie."

"Would you like me to show you were it is?"

Naruto was silent. He only nodded.

They walked through many tombstones: old, new, abandoned, and recently put up ones. But they hardly paid attention to the scenery. Naruto was to busy trying to let everything sink in. _Grandma Tsunade didn't lie._

Hinata on the other hand was busy trying not to blush and stutter. She had given up those habits and she wouldn't get them back. _Naruto._

Finally she decided to speak. "You are probably wondering why you couldn't find where here grave is at. Well, Lady Tsunade decided that she would be commemorated as a hero to the village so they buried her where all heroes are."

When they arrived Naruto noticed what was written on her tombstone.

_**Here lies a great shinobi, friend, and daughter. May you Rest in Peace, Sakura Haruno**_

While reading these words Naruto wanted to cry even more, but he wouldn't. It wasn't the ninja way. At least not in front of others. Hinata set the flowers down.

"Naruto, it's okay to cry. After she died, I cried so much I thought I would never be able to cry again, but right now I still want to," she started crying letting the silent tears fall. "Sakura and I had became really great friends before this happened."

"Hinata, thank-you. I'm glad Sakura had a friend like you." Naruto finally spoke as all the tears that he had been holding in came out.

They stayed there for a long time. It was beginning to get dark when Naruto finally said, "Hinata, I think we should head back. Do you want me to walk you home?"

"I think Father would appreciate it." They walked back in a quiet yet awkward silence until Hinata finally broke it. "This is my house."

"Hinata would… you like to go eat some ramen with me tomorrow?"

"S…s…sure. G…g…good…n…ight." _Oh no I'm stuttering again. _Hinata ran inside her house to avoid her being seen by Naruto while blushing. _I thought I had broken that habit. I can't believe Naruto asked me out. Well it isn't a date but I'm getting somewhere._

"Goodnight." _Some things never change with her. Wow, I'm actually going back to sleep in my own bed. But first I need to do something really important._

* * *

"Lady Tsunade, there's someone here who wants to talk to you," a guard told her.

"At this hour. I'm not in the mood. Tell him or her to come some other time."

"But he says it's urgent."

"Fine."

"Grandma Tsunade…" Naruto said as he slowly came in.

"Naruto, what do you want? Came to mock me even more I see."

"No. I came to apologize. I'm sorry. I guess I was just so frustrated and I wanted to take my anger out on someone and you became my target, but I know you are a great Hokage."

"It's okay. When I found out about her death, I wanted to die myself."

"What was she like after I left?"

"She became my apprentice. Quickly mastering any jutsu I'd throw at her. Soon she became like a daughter to me. I'm sorry I let her die."

"It wasn't your fault. Besides you're getting old. We can't blame everything on you. Maybe you should pass the title of Hokage to me," he joked.

"You wouldn't even last one day. For now go to home to sleep. We can talk more tomorrow."

Naruto went home feeling better.

* * *

**Yay long chapie.**

**So please review i'm kind of running out of inspiration because hardly anyone is reviewing.**

**PLEASE REVIEW**


	8. Orochimaru's Death

**Disclaimer: No, I don't own Naruto…yet…Muahahaha (cough) sorry.**

_**Enjoy the Story**

* * *

Thoughts_**

* * *

Recap:**

"We can talk more tomorrow."

Naruto went home feeling better.

**End of Recap**

**

* * *

**

In a land far away… a land called the Sound Village. 

"Ahhhh," Orochimaru cried in pain.

"Lord Orochimaru is it time already?" Kabuto queried.

"Go get Uchiha, it is time."

"Yes." Kabuto left Orochimaru crying in pain. His screams were hard all throughout the base. _I have to hurry. I have no idea how long Lord Orochimaru can stay in that body._

As he walked through the endless hallways, asked random sound ninja, "Where's Sasuke?"

None answered. Finally one that did answered said, "Last time I heard of him he was still out on the mission."

"Grrr. He still hasn't returned. This matter is urgent."

"I heard my name. What do you want, Kabuto?" Sasuke questioned as he entered the place where Kabuto was at.

"So you have finally returned, Sasuke. Took you long enough. That mission should have taken you one week, most, but it took you two if not more. What were you doing?" an angry Kabuto asked.

"I ran into trouble, I guess you could say," the stoic Uchiha said.

"I'm amazed you are actually responding."

"Hn."

"There you go once more into your kind of answers, that's if you consider those answers. This isn't important now, though. Lord Orochimaru whishes to see you."

"Hn." Sasuke walked toward Orochimaru's chamber and walked in without knocking. The room was dark, mysterious, and it smelled horrible.

"Sasuke, don't you know it's rude not to knock before you go in someone's room?" Orochimaru grunted wanting to scream in pain, but he would not show the Uchiha how vulnerable he was at the moment.

"You called me. You should have known I was coming. Therefore, there was no need to knock," he retorted.

"Skipping to the matter at hand," he quickly changed the subject because he knew he was beaten. " I just wanted to congratulate you. You've become quite strong, powerful. There's still no way you can kill Itachi, though. You're not strong enough…yet. There's one thing missing."

Sasuke's body tensed. "What is this that I am missing?"

"ME!"

"What?!" _Of course, this is the time he would try to take over my body. Like that will happen. _Sasuke smirked.

Orochimaru turned into the huge snake and was going toward Sasuke. Sasuke immediately flashed on his sharingan and took his katana out ready for battle.

**(Ok…so like I said before I suck at fighting scenes. This time I'm not going to even try to write one ok sorry) Okay skip the fight scene and all that. Lets just skip to where Orochimaru is "dead".**

"Pathetic. You actually thought you could take over my body. But I have to thank you for the power you gave me in the last four years. It came in handy to use it against you, and later to kill Itachi." Sasuke said.

At that moment Kabuto opened the door and said, "So…Lord Orochimaru, how did it go?" He looked around to the place where Orochimaru usually sat to see Sasuke standing triumphantly over the body.

"Orochimaru is dead. Soon you will be too." Sasuke threatened.

"What happened? How?"

"I guess.. I have surpassed him." Sasuke's sharingan flashed on. I don't even have to use much of my power. He powered up for chidori. Soon Sasuke was running toward him at full speed.

"No! I can't stop him." Kabuto whispered, resigned to death like Orochimaru. The chidori hit him. Sasuke walked ort and left, thinking they were both dead.

"Lord Orochimaru…" Kabuto crawled closer to him. "How could this have gone wrong?"

"Arg.."

"Lord Orochimaru! You're not dead?"

"Kabuto, I'm dying. Uchiha was too powerful just as Itachi was when I tried to take over his body. I had control of Itachi's for minutes and I…"

"Stop…save your energy."

"Sasuke's body…he threw me out within mere seconds."

"Lord Orochimaru, take my body. I may not be as strong as you desire, but with my healing abilities I can recuperate. If you take over my body…there are chances you can survive."

As soon as Kabuto finished his Sentence, an evil smile spread across Orochimaru's face, and he took over his body.

_I still can't be sure if I'm going to survive or not, _he thought.

* * *

After Sasuke "killed" Orochimaru and Kabuto he created Team Snake: it was made up of Karin, Suigetsu, and Jugo. They traveled together for about a week until they had an abrupt stop. 

_I'm getting no where. I can't even find Itachi. _" Listen, everyone. As you all know, I gathered you because of your skills. I thought they could help me find my brother, Itachi. I have come to the conclusion that only one person can help me…"

"Yes, Sasuke. I'll go with you. Me and you alone, until the end of the world," Karin shouted.

"What makes you think he's going to pick you?" Jugo wanted to know.

"Simple! Because I can track people down, and that is all Sasuke needs. Right?" She turned toward Sasuke.

"As a matter of fact, it is none of you."

"What?!!" they said in unison some louder than others (cough Karin cough).

"You are all free to go where ever you want to now. I'm traveling alone."

"I'll go with you Sasuke," Karin begged.

"Wait, Sasuke. You said there was one person who could help you. Yet you aren't taking any of us with you. Who is this person?" Jugo asked.

"Don't worry about it."

"Sasuke, I know there is no stopping you, but I promise we will see each other again," Karin warned.

Sasuke left at full speed. _Naruto, Itachi is after you so you are the only one who can help me. I can lure him to me by using you. Looks like I'm going home_, Sasuke thought.

**

* * *

PLEASE REVIEW! I know you want to know what happens next. Trust me, just thinking about what is going to happen gets me excited. **

Sasuke: Yeah right I bet, it's going to suck.

Me: Take that back, you suck. Now tell them to review or else.

Sasuke: Or else what?

Me: Well, you or no one else will know what happens or if you even actually go back to the Leaf Village.

Sasuke: Oh right. do what she says and review. Hey you know, you could have just made me say it because you are the one typing.

Me: Oh yeah! Anyway... Like Sasuke said Review. Until next time! Please review i really don't care how many of you review as long as there is one person who tells me he/she likes my story and to keep on writing (although i would prefer if a lot of people reviewed) 


	9. Sasuke's Return

**I'm so sorry for not updating sooner. I just kind of lost inspiration BECAUSE HARDLY ANYONE IS REVIEWING. But for those of you who actually read my story (just don't review grr.) I made this chapter really long to make up for it.**

**Disclaimer: "I own Naruto!"**

**Me: yeah, yeah Masashi Kishimoto, we all know that.**

_**ENJOY!**_

_

* * *

Thoughts_**

* * *

Recap:**

Sasuke left at full speed. _Naruto, Itachi is after you so you are the only one who can help me. I can lure him to me by using you. Looks like I'm going home_, Sasuke thought.

**End of Recap.**

* * *

Naruto walked slowly out of his house. He walked toward the Hyuuga part of the village. He needed to go pick-up Hinata so they could get the Ramen he had promised her. When he arrived, he knocked at the door. Hinata's father Hiashi (that's his name right? Anyone) opened the door.

"Do you need something?" he queried. _That's the nine-tailed fox kid._

"I'm here to pick up Hinata. We're going to get some Ramen," Naruto responded.

Hiashi gave Naruto a cold look, and when he was going to say something Hinata came out.

"Naruto! I'm ready, let's go," they both left leaving Hiashi in a very thoughtful mood.

_I don't like where this is going. Sure, Hinata may like him, but he has a demon inside him. Besides, she will soon be taking over as head of the branch family and we can't have a kid like him around her, _he thought.

Naruto and Hinata walked side by side to the Ramen shop. People stared at them thinking they were a couple. Naruto, of course, was oblivious to this kind of attention. Hinata, on the other hand, was trying not to blush.

Finally they arrived at the Ramen place. They both took a seat and Naruto yelled, "Two Miso Pork Ramen, Please!"

The man (no idea what his name is) turned around and saw him. "Naruto! Long time no see. How have you been? What have you been doing? Where were you? How come you hadn't come here anymore?" the man showered him with questions.

"One question at a time. Let's see. I'm fine. I've been training. Some place far away that I hardly even know where it is. And I didn't come because I wasn't here."

"Here is your Ramen and here is the lovely young lady's. So who is she? You are not going to tell me?"

"That's Hinata. She's my friend. She used to be really weird but she was really changed."

_Did he __**have**__ to say I was weird? _She sweat dropped. _Wait! Did Naruto just say I was his friend? Wow! He considers me his friend._

"So Hinata what have you been doing all of these four years?"

_He's interested in my life? Ok, don't stutter. Don't stutter. _"I…I've" _I need to get a grip. _"I've been training. Soon, I'll have to take over the main branch of the family so I have to be strong."

"Hinata, if, no not if, when I become Hokage, I swear I will change that because I can see you and Neji don't like that."

"Thank you," she whispered softly.

"So do you want to spar with me after this? I'll show you how strong I have become."

"S…Sure." She smiled this day was going to be one of the best or so she thought.

* * *

"Lady Tsunade, some one is here to see you," a guard announced.

"Who is it? I'm busy: missions to assign, paper work, plus the hospital needs me." _Ever since Sakura died I've had more work. She helped me so much. _Tsunade sighed.

"It's me," an emotionless voice said.

"Uchiha," she spat but at the same time there was confusion in her voice. "What are you doing here? What do you want?" she stood up and readied herself for a fight if she needed to. "Genma, why did you let him in?" she asked in a deadly voice.

"Well you see…"

"I'll tell you Tsunade. You, Genma was it, leave us alone." Sasuke ordered. "I need to talk to her privately."

"Who are you to order him around? That's my job."

"Hey!" Genma was offended.

"Genma do what he says."

"But…Lady Tsunade…" Genma started to contradict.

"I can take care of Uchiha if he gets too bothersome," she smirked as she sat back down. Sasuke sat down also.

As Genma walked out, Tsunade spoke. "So what do you want? Did you become Orochimaru's messenger boy, and he sent you to give me a message. Let me guess, he's going to attack the village again. Doesn't he ever get tired of doing that? This time we'll be ready, we'll have more allies."

"No. As a matter of fact, Orochimaru is dead."

"What?! Who killed him?"

"I did," he said with no remorse.

"How?" She was speechless. She couldn't believe it. Twice, she had tried to pulverize him and hadn't gotten the job done. And here was this kid who says he killed him.

"I'll tell you what I told Kabuto before I killed him; I guess I had surpassed him." There was an awkward silence between the two. Tsunade was still too shocked to say anything. Sasuke… he was being Sasuke and not talking.

"Is Itachi Uchiha dead also?" she finally broke the silence.

Sasuke's body tensed at the name of his brother. "No."

"Then why are you here? I thought what you wanted to kill Itachi, not Orochimaru."

"I couldn't find him, but that is why I came here. I have a plan."

"Which is?"

"Naruto. Itachi is after him for the demon inside him, as you already know. I'm planning to use Naruto to lure him to me," he said, his face expressionless.

"You re planning on using your best friend as a tool?" she couldn't believe it.

"Ex-best friend. And yes I am right now it is my only choice."

"Tell me some good reasons why I shouldn't try to kill you right now!" Tsunade stood up, a murderous look on her face. "What you just said…it's preposterous!"

"One, I got rid of Orochimaru, an S-class criminal. Two, I'm planning on killing Itachi, another S-class criminal. And three, if I could kill Orochimaru, chances are I can kill you too."

"Are you challenging me? There is no way you can kill me, you'd be the one that would end up dead. As Hokage, I am heavily guarded even as we speak. If we'd start fighting, everyone would rush in to help me."

"Hn."

"But…we'll see what Naruto has to say about all this. Genma!"

"Yes, my Lady," he rushed in.

"Get Naruto here, immediately!"

"Yes." He poofed out leaving Tsunade and Sasuke alone once again.

* * *

"Wow! Hinata you've gotten really strong!" Naruto panted

Naruto and Hinata were lying in the ground panting. Kunai were everywhere. There were many shattered trees and the whole battle arena looked as if there had been a war.

"Thank you. You're really strong yourself," Hinata complimented.

"Hehe!"

They lay in the ground for more time in a quiet and peaceful silence. Until Genma poofed in.

"Finally, I've found you." he said.

"Huh? What do you want? Don't you see I'm busy?" He sat up.

"Lady Tsunade, wishes to see you, immediately. No fooling around, Naruto this is urgent!"

"Fine." He said as Genma poofed away.

"Hinata, I'm sorry. I can't take you home. Seems like Grandma Tsunade has something important for me." He waved good bye and ran off.

"Okay." she started walking back home. When she arrived, she was surprised to see her father waiting for here outside. He had a deadly serious look of his face.

"Hinata, we need to talk," he demanded.

"What is it, Father?"

"I don't want you seeing that boy again. He looks like he's a bad influence."

"But…"

"No buts. You're lucky I let you go today. Now go to your room."

Hinata ran past Hiashi crying. Her perfect day had just been turned upside down.

_

* * *

I really need to learn how to poof into place. _Naruto thought as he ran through the crowded streets of the Leaf Village. _I wonder what my surprise is. Maybe Grandma Tsunade will give me a year's supply of Ramen, _he thought as he arrived. He decided to open the door as slow as possible so Tsunade would be ready with his present. He reached up to the door knob, twisted it, and slowly pushed the door open. 

"So what's my present Grandma?" he shouted. He looked to one side of the office and saw nothing. Slowly he turned his head only to see him sitting there as if nothing had ever happened.

"Sasuke?!!!" That was the only word that came out of his mouth at the time.

**

* * *

So what do you think? PLEASE REVIEW. I know you want to know how this turns out to be sasusaku.**

**At least tell me that my story sucks but give me some good reasons. Or that you like it. **_**ANYTHING!**_


	10. Repercussions

**First of all thank you to those who reviewed. You made me so happy. (Starts crying) Thank you!**

**Disclaimer****: "I own Naruto!" Beep. Beep. Beep. "Stupid alarm clock. I was having the best dream."**

_**ENJOY**_

**

* * *

Recap:**

"So what's my present Grandma?" he shouted. He looked to one side of the office and saw nothing. Slowly he turned his head only to see him sitting there as if nothing had ever happened.

"Sasuke?!!!" That was the only word that came out of his mouth at the time.

**End of Recap.**

* * *

"Loser." 

"Grandma Tsunade you brought him back. How? This is a lot better than a year's supply of Ramen." Naruto was running around the office. He was so excited. He thought nothing could ruin this moment.

"Naruto, calm down," the fifth Hokage ordered. "I didn't bring him back. He came back by himself."

"Huh? I knew it. You really missed us here!"

"Some things never change Loser. You've changed outside but not inside. You're still that clueless little…"

"Sasuke! Watch it. You are getting on my last nerve and that's not good," she threatened.

"Hn."

"What's going on?" Naruto finally calmed down to notice the tension between the two of them.

"Tell him why you are here, Uchiha," she ordered.

"You see Naruto, I killed Orochimaru…" he began.

"Wow! Sasuke I knew you could do it. You were never evil…"

"Naruto, quit interrupting him. What he has to say is important," Tsunade scolded.

"As I was saying, I killed Orochimaru. I tried to looking for Itachi, but he was no where I could find him even with Orochimaru's most skilled ninja. Finally, I realized that only you…Naruto could help me."

At the last sentence a wide grin spread over Naruto's face. He had no idea that what Sasuke was about to say could change his whole view of the situation.

"Naruto…Itachi is after you so I am going to use you to lure him to me so I can finally get my revenge."

Naruto's wide grin turned into a frown. Betrayal was written all over his face. As if it were some reflex, Naruto launched himself so fast at Sasuke that Sasuke had no time to put his guard up and punched him. Sasuke went flying through the door.

"Get. Out. Of. My. Sight." Naruto growled.

_I wasn't expecting that_, Sasuke thought as he coughed up blood and tried to stand up.

Tsunade quickly called four ambu before a fight irrupted. If Naruto and Sasuke fought, there was no doubt that the village would suffer great damages. "Take Uchiha to the dungeon," she ordered.

Sasuke started struggling against the ambu. "Uchiha, don't struggle it will only make things worse for you. You should have never came back. You are and S-class, missing ninja. The penalty: death." she informed as she appeared behind him to knock him out.

Sasuke fell on the ground, unconscious. The ambu took him away.

Naruto, whose back had been turned to all the action, turned around. Tsunade saw his tear-stained face and went to hug him. After all, he was like her son.

"Why?" he cried. "What did I do to deserve this?"

"Naruto…let's go inside. We can talk there." They both walked slowly inside. Some repair men came and fixed the broken door so they could talk in private. Finally, when they finished and they left, Naruto and Tsunade began talking.

"I should have killed him when he came here. I'm sorry you had to hear that, Naruto." Tsunade apologized.

"When I fist met Sasuke, I wanted to be strong like him. I trained so hard so he could at least acknowledge me, but he never seemed to. Instead he grew enraged at my progress. I just wanted people to acknowledge me and no toss me aside like some used up tool. Sasuke, Sakura, Kakashi and Iruka Sensei were the fist ones to do so. For the fist time I was happy but I guess I'm not meant to be. Sasuke leaves, Sakura dies, Sasuke comes back but and even more cold hearted jerk than he was," Naruto was playing his memories in his mind like a slide show. Ho looked zoned out. Sadness had filled his heart.

Tsunde went by his side and hugged him while saying, "Naruto you'll always have me , Jaraiya, Kakashi, Iruka, and Shizune along your side. Don't worry."

"Sasuke is like a brother to me. I don't want him to die, but what he said to me… I just can't believe he actually broke all bonds."

"I'll try to do something go he won't get killed if you want me to. Let's just hop we can change his mind about his 'great' plan."

"Thank you. He saved my life a long time ago in the Land of Waves. I want to be able to repay him."

* * *

Tsunade walked through the quiet, dark hall of the Leaf Village prison. She was trying to identify Sasuke's cell. When she finally located it, she looked inside through a small window. She saw Sasuke sitting on the floor. She opened the door, went inside, and quickly closed it for fear that Sasuke might try to escape. 

"Uchiha,…Naruto has told me to keep you alive," she informed.

"Torture, I see."

"No, he actually wants me to get you out of here."

For a second, there was confusion written in his face. Quickly so not to show it, he want back to his emotionless state. "Why?"

"Unlike you, Naruto sees you as a brother. All he wants is his 'family' back. I can't believe I'm going to say this but, I'm going to talk to the village elders to at least give you a trial. On one condition…"

"What?"

"Around Naruto, you, at least, have to pretend that you are NOT using him. Like you are actually glad that you are back. That way he may even cooperate in the killing of your brother. Besides, last time I heard, Itachi Uchiha does not travel alone, you'll need some help."

"Fine."

"Today you'll have to sleep here. There's nothing I can do about this now. The elders will probably want to see you. Don't say anything incriminating and rude to them that will only assure you death," she warned as she walked away.

As soon as she walked out, Shizune walked in. She held a plastic bag.

"Sasuke here," she said in a not too friendly voice as she handed him the bag.

"What is it?" he wondered as he took it and started opening it.

"They're clothes you can change into. The ones you are currently wearing signify you loyalty to Sound. If you are going to be here you can't be seen with those, especially if you are going to see the Elders."

Sasuke eyed the clothes he was currently wearing: dark blue pants, an extremely large, white shirt, and the hideous purple rope around his waist. Yep, that rope would definitely give him away. He then looked into the bag. There was a shirt that resembled the one he wore when he was younger. The pants were dark blue pants.

"I'll leave now so you can change," she informed as she walked outside leaving him alone.

* * *

"Tsunade?" one of the Elders said. (Sorry don't know the Elders' names but I don't think they are important but anyways.) 

"Elders, as you may have already heard, Sasuke Uchiha is back."

"Yes, we are aware of this development."

"I'm just wandering…will he be able to have a trial?" Tsunade asked.

"Hm…he's an S-class criminal. There shouldn't have to be one."

"I know but… when he went to my office he told me some things that may allow him to have one."

"What did he tell you Tsunade?"

"I think you should hear what he told me in a trial, maybe if he tells you, you'll let him live."

"Why are you so focused on letting him have a trial?"

_It's because of Naruto but I can't tell you that. _"I think it's just a good idea. If we don't we could end up regretting it."

"Alright. We'll hear what the kid has to say. The trial shall be tomorrow."

"Yes." Tsunade started leaving but was stopped.

"But, Tsunade, one incriminating thing he says or does, he will die that same day," the Elders threatened.

**

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**

Please Review. I love those.

Please forgive me if there are a lot of mistakes but i was trying to type this really fast because I didn't have much time and trust me I'm not a fast typer. 

**Remember that if you review, I will try to update fast. Then you'll be one step closer to where everything comes together. Just like five or less chapters till that part.**

**Please Review. Thank you!**


	11. The Trial

**Once again thank you for those who are reviewing. You all make me so happy.**

**Disclaimer: Happy New Year! No, I still don't own Naruto.**

_**ENJOY**_

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* * *

Thoughts_**

* * *

Recap:**

"Alright. We'll hear what the kid has to say. The trial shall be tomorrow."

"Yes." Tsunade started leaving but was stopped.

"But, Tsunade, one incriminating thing he says or does, he will die that same day," the Elders threatened.

**End of Recap.**

* * *

Knock. Knock.

_Who could it be this late? _Naruto wandered as he woke up in the middle of the night.

Knock. Knock.

"I'm coming already, gees." He opened the door and saw Tsunade standing outside. "Grandma, come in. It's late, you know. Have you been drinking again? Is that why you are here?" Naruto asked as the Fifth Hokage walked in.

"No. Naruto. I just came to tell you that Sasuke's trial will be tomorrow. Only you, Kakashi, a few high ranked ninja, the Elders and I will be there.

"Already? I didn't think it would be so soon. There's still the matter of if he's going to live or die, though."

Tsunade shook her head. "I know, but I'll try my best to persuade them to let him live." She looked around the room where they were at. There were instant Ramen cups every where. She then looked over to Naruto. He was wearing his panda pajamas with the night cap as a panda head. She made a face. "Naruto! You really need to clean this place. And don't you think you need to stop wearing little kids' things like those pajamas?"

"What's wrong with them?"

"Agh… nothing. Anyway, I'll see you tomorrow. Be prepared for whatever comes your way," she said as she poofed away.

* * *

"Uchiha! Wake up!" an ambu ordered.

"Hn."

"I know this sounds shocking but you have a trial today. To tell you the truth I don't think you deserve one."

"I don't think anyone asked you what you thought," Sasuke retorted.

The ambu tied Sasuke's hands with chakra ropes. Sasuke, remembering Tsunade's words from the day before, did not struggle. The ambu lead the way into the room where his trial was soon to be held. As they walked in, Sasuke noticed that there weren't many ninja in sight.

_Not even the idiot, the pervert, and her are here_, Sasuke thought referring to Naruto, Kakashi, and Sakura. (Remember that Sasuke doesn't know that Sakura is gone.) He sat down at his assigned place and waited for his famous trial to begin.

* * *

"Zzzzz…."

Knock. Knock.

"Huh? Again? Hold on I'm coming." Naruto opened the door. "Hey! Kakashi Sensei, what are you doing here?"

"I knew you were going to forget," Kakashi whispered to himself. "Did that small brain of yours forget that today is Sasuke's trial?"

"How do you know about it?"

"Lady Tsunade told me yesterday night. Hurry up and go change we are going to be late."

"Oh no! Wait, I need to go change. Wait for me Kakashi Sensei."

Naruto ran off to get his regular orange ninja outfit. Put it on and along with Kakashi ran toward the place where trials were held.

"I can't believe that as much as you've trained, you still haven't learned how to poof into places. Now I'm stuck here running with you when I could have just poofed."

"Well maybe you should teach me Sensei!"

"Great. Just when I had planned not to be late."

When they arrived, they were surprised because they didn't hear any talking or noise.

"Maybe we arrived too early?" Naruto suggested.

"Or too late."

Kakashi opened the door and peeked inside when he saw everyone still waiting to begin, he walked in, followed by Naruto. They both took the seats closest to where everyone was at. They sat down and, like the rest of the ninja there, waited for the Hokage and Elders to arrive so they could commence.

_

* * *

So Naruto and Kakashi are finally here but where's Sakura_, Sasuke thought as he looked around. 

He heard a door open. Thinking it was Sakura, he quickly turned around. He was surprised to see, not Sakura, but Tsunade and the Village Elders walking in. The trial was about to begin.

"Sasuke Uchiha: S-class criminal, missing ninja, and in most village's Bingo Books. Joined Orochimaru an S-class criminal, missing ninja, and that attacked the Leaf Village twice. Your penalty should be death. Yet, Tsunade says you told her something important that could change our minds. What is it?"

"I have reasons to justify my actions. I left to become stronger so I could attain my revenge on my brother, Itachi Uchiha. At the moment, going with Orochimaru seemed like it was the only way obtain it…"

"If that is your reason, then we were fools to listen to such ridiculous reason," one of the Elders interrupted.

"Please, Elder, let him finish. He has more to say. I promise," Tsunade pleaded.

"One of the reasons, I believe, I should not be killed is for killing Orochimaru, S-class, missing ninja and criminal."

Whispers were heard throughout the room. Everyone was amazed because of what he had just said.

"Reason number two. I am planning on killing Itachi. This will benefit greatly because he is also an S-class criminal and missing ninja in Akatsuki. Reason number three. I came back on my own; nobody had to force me to come. Reason number four. I am the last of the Uchiha Clan; the Leaf Village's strongest clan…"

"I see your point in the last reason," the Elders interrupted. "We could arrange a marriage to make sure the Uchiha Clan does not vanish but… I doubt you would like that. It would be better if you chose. Those are enough reasons… for now. We need a quick break for a discussion. Tsunade come with us."

As they left, ambu came and guarded Sasuke. They would make sure he didn't try anything mysterious.

Sasuke took a quick glance to his old team. He noticed Sakura had not come. _Maybe she doesn't care anymore. Maybe she moved on. Or they just didn't tell her for some reason. _

Hours passed and Tsunade along with the Elders finally came in. They took a seat. Everyone in the room wandered what their decision would be.

"Sasuke Uchiha, your reasons are well thought out…but we still don't know what exactly to do. For now…you will be allowed to live. That doesn't mean you are out of hot water. You will be on probation for at least a year: no missions, you can't leave the village unless specified, when the Chunnin exams come up, you will not be allowed to take part of them, you will have to be watched every day, and you will wear this bracelet which allows us to track you down and if you try to escape for some reason, the bracelet sends a message to us and you will me immobilized until we arrive," the Elders explained as one of them held up a small bracelet.

He handed it to one of the ambu. The ambu walked over to Sasuke and placed it on Sasuke's hand. He locked it in and handed the key to Tsunade.

Everyone was dismissed. Little by little the few ninja left with one question in mind; who would be the one to look after Sasuke.

"Uzumaki is our best choice right now. He's the only one Uchiha talks to," the Elders suggested.

"I think it's best if Kakashi takes him, at least for today," Tsunade contradicted remembering yesterday's events.

"If you say so, Tsunade. Kakashi!"

Kakashi, who had already begun to read his famous Icha Icha book, looked up and went in the direction to where he was called.

"You will take Uchiha with you until further notice," they ordered.

"Right," Kakashi responded. He walked over to him and said, "Let's go Sasuke. You are coming with me for now." They both walked away in the direction on Kakashi's house.

Naruto, who was still there, walked up to Tsunade, hugged her, and said, "Thank you, Grandma." He then ran off toward his own house.

* * *

"Did you need me?"

"Yes. The Leaf Village and us are exchanging one skilled ninja for a year to improve our relations," he informed. "I have chosen you. You are an ambu, one of the most skilled ninja this village has. The contract says we don't have to say who exactly we are sending, but if you want to you may. You'll leave tomorrow morning."

"Yes but… who's coming here?"

"I don't know. Go get all of your things ready."

"Yes." _Looks like I'm going to the Village Hidden in the Leaves_.

**

* * *

Oh. I wonder who that is. Oh Well, that's it for now.**

**Please Remember to **_**Review!**_

**Thank you! **

**Well got to go to sleep now. I typing this and it's after 1:00 A.M. but its worth it for all my reviwers.**

**Happy New Year!**


	12. The Shinobi Exchange

**I'm sorry for not updating sooner. I'm not going to give you all my boring excuses because I know you have better things to do than reading them.**

**Once again: Thank you to those who reviewed.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.**

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Thoughts _

**Flashback**

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**_

ENJOY**

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Recap:**

Naruto, who was still there, walked up to Tsunade, hugged her, and said, "Thank you, Grandma." He then ran off toward his own house.

* * *

"The Leaf Village and us are exchanging one skilled ninja for a year to improve our relations," he informed. "I have chosen you. You are an ambu, one of the most skilled ninja this village has. The contract says we don't have to say who exactly we are sending, but if you want to you may. You'll leave tomorrow morning." 

"Yes but… who's coming here?"

"I don't know. Go get all of your things ready."

"Yes." _Looks like I'm going to the Village Hidden in the Leaves_.

**End of Recap.**

* * *

Tsunade was in her office. Like always she had tons of paper work to be filled out. She didn't even know what to start with. Just when she thought all paperwork was completed, more came in. She was tired, so tired that she was thinking about ditching all of those papers and go get some sake. That is until a certain letter addressed to her caught her eye. She began reading it. 

As she finished reading, Shizune, along with Tonton, came in and noticed the letter.

"Lady Tsunade, may I know what that is?" she asked.

"It's that stupid Tsuchikage. He want us to exchange one shinobi again.

"Who are you sending?"

"I don't know. I sent Sakura once, she volunteered, but now… There aren't many shinobi that want to go in these kinds of missions. They take up a year and no one wants to leave their home, family, and friends for that long. Maybe I just won't send anyone."

"Lady Tsunade! If you don't send someone, our alliance with the Village Hidden Among the Stones could be severed. If no on wants to go, then, I'll go."

"Hm…but there are some ninja who don't want this alliance and try to end it by killing the shinobi sent. I don't want another of my apprentices dead. Besides I need you here with me. You are the one who helps me around here."

"But, if no one wants to go then, we have no choice."

"Okay, but promise me to be safe."

"I promise."

* * *

Naruto walked toward the old Team Seven meeting place; the bridge. Kakashi had called him so Team Seven would reunite. But, Team Seven would never be the same. All members had changed in some way and she wasn't here any more. As he arrive, he notice, he was the fist one there. He waited for a long time. 

"YOU'RE Late," Naruto began to scram when Kakashi arrived along with Sasuke. In the end of his accusation, he quieted down because he didn't hear Sakura's voice along with his.

"Well, I … couldn't find my lucky pair of socks," Kakashi lied.

"yeah right," Naruto only whispered not really caring. "What did you want Kakashi Sensei? I have better things to do than to be here with you and that bastard." He pointed toward Sasuke while saying that last statement.

"I'm not a bastard, moron," Sasuke argued.

"WHAT DID YOU CALL ME?"

"M-o-r-o-n. Moron. Can't you hear?"

_This is already not going well, _Kakashi thought.

"Wow! You can spell, but you didn't' have to do it, idiot." Naruto and Sasuke both continued arguing and calling each other names. They didn't realize Kakashi was growing more irritated with every second that passed by.

"Shut up! Both of you!" Kakashi said in a deadly voice. "Let's go. Lady Tsunade wanted to see us."

"What about Sakura? She's still not here," Sasuke said.

Both Naruto's and Kakashi's eyes went wide. Their expressions had nothing but sorrow in them. There was an awkward silence between the three.

"She's gone," Naruto finally spoke.

"Where did she go? On a mission?"

"No. What Naruto meant to say is that she's…dead," Kakashi corrected.

_It's my fault she's gone… If I would have been here, I could have protected her. She's dead. No! Quit Sasuke, it wasn't your fault. She was a pathetic, useless fan girl. She couldn't even protect herself. Why am I blaming myself? _"When?" was all Sasuke said.

"When you…"At that moment, he remembered Tsunade not wanting Naruto to know that the leaf Village had been attacked by Sound along with Sasuke and told Sasuke what Tsunade had told Naruto. "When you were with Orochimaru, she went on a mission. Her squad was attacked by unknown ninja and she died trying to protect her friends."

Naruto nodded at this while looking at the ground.

They walked toward the Hokage tower in silence. No one wanted to talk about their previous subject. Along the way many villagers whispered, "Isn't that Sasuke Uchiha?" "What is he doing here?" "I thought he was a criminal?"

When they arrived, Kakashi ordered Naruto to look after Sasuke while he talked with Tsunade for a while. Naruto and Sasuke stayed outside while Kakashi went in.

"Kakashi? I wanted to see all of Team Seven not just you," Tsunade scolded as she saw him enter alone.

"Naruto and Sasuke are outside. I want to talk to you about Sakura," he informed.

"I'm listening."

"Well, you had said you believed Sasuke killed Sakura," he whispered so Naruto and Sasuke wouldn't hear. "Well…Sasuke didn't even know she was dead."

"He must have been faking. Who else could have done it?"

"I don't know, but it didn't look like Sasuke was faking. He seemed confused and for a second…heartbroken."

"I really didn't want to be the one to ask him, but I need to know," she complained. "Send Uchiha in."

* * *

Outside Naruto and Sasuke were both trying to listen even thought they knew they weren't supposed to. They couldn't hear anything though because Kakashi and Tsunade were whispering. Naruto finally gave up and turned around and leaned on the wall. Seeing this, Sasuke did the same. 

"So…why didn't you leave when you had the chance? It's not like I'm going to help you. I f you would have left there would be nothing holding you back, but now the Elders have you under close inspection. You can't leave to go after Itachi," Naruto said.

"Hn."

"That's not even an answer!" Naruto said already angry.

"I don't have to explain myself to you, but I'll tell you anyway. I need help from somebody. Even I can't take on both Itachi and his partner. Besides…" **"Around Naruto, you, at least, have to pretend that you are NOT using him. Like you are actually glad that you are back. That way he may even cooperate in the killing of your brother. Besides, last time I heard, Itachi Uchiha does not travel alone, you'll need some help." **"…I've missed my home."

"Uchiha!" Tsunade's voice called. "Get in here!"

Sasuke obediently walked in, leaving a curious Naruto alone. _What is going on?_

* * *

"Hn." 

"I want to talk about the attack on the Leaf Village we had about two years ago by Orochimaru," Tsunade informed. Sasuke stayed quiet. "I didn't see you until the end. Where were you? What were you doing?"

_I was killing Sakura, man I can already hear him saying that, _Tsunade thought

"I was having a 'friendly' fight with Sakura. She had …improved."

Tsunade jumped up from her seat and was going to punch him because of what he had just said but was held back by Kakashi. She already had a chakra full fist an inch away from his face.

"Calm down, we still need to know more about that day," Kakashi told him while still holding Tsunade. "Sasuke, before we came here, I said Sakura died in a mission. I lied. That was what Naruto thinks happened. You, I'll tell you. After Sound attacked, Sakura was found dead."

A look of horror passed Sasuke's face, but quickly vanished. _Did I kill her? _

**Sasuke's POV**

"**SHUT UP! YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING!" Sasuke yelled and with all of his strength punched her. As Sakura was standing up, he yelled "Fire Style: Fire Ball Jutsu."**

_That was my last attack. That jutsu isn't strong enough to kill even the weakest person. Some one else must have done it. It. Was. Not. Me._

"My question is: why did you kill your former teammate?" Kakashi demanded to know.

"It wasn't me," was all Sasuke said.

Tsunade once again jumped up from her chair to attack Sasuke, but, once again, was stopped by Kakashi. "Quit lying," she screamed.

"Sakura and I were fighting, yes, but a Sound ninja said they needed me and I left. When I left, she was still alive. I didn't kill her. Someone else must have gone and attacked her."

"But who? Who would want to kill her?" Tsunade wondered.

"Maybe, Sound feared her becoming as strong as you Lady Tsunade, I mean she was your apprentice, and they decided to kill her before that happened," Kakashi suggested. "…and in her weakened state they succeeded.

_Wait…Sakura was the fifth Hokage's apprentice. No wonder she improve so much, _Sasuke thought.

"So…why did Orochimaru attack?" Tsunade asked.

"I really don't know. It was probably his sick obsession with this village."

"We'll talk about this later. Right now we need to talk about why I called you here. We've wasted enough time. Naruto come in here!"

* * *

Outside, Naruto was traumatized because of what he had just heard. He was immobilized. Tsunade called and still he couldn't move. Finally, he got over the shock. He acted like his happy old self and went in. _I need to talk to Grandma Tsunade_, he thought. 

"Finally, Naruto what took you so long?" Tsunade asked.

"I got bored outside all by myself so I decide to go take a walk. I still heard when you called me, though, because you scream sooo loud," Naruto lied.

"Whatever. Anyway, the Land Hidden Among the Stones and us exchanged one shinobi for a year. This shinobi will need a team to be on. I decide to pout him/her with you. You are missing one person so it made sense," she explained.

"Who's it going to be?" Kakashi asked.

At that moment a strong chakra presence was felt and a ninja walked in. The ninja was dressed like an ambu, all covered up: a black robe with hood and a mask. Tied with a sash to his/her back was a two foot long metal bar.

_Most likely his/her weapon_, everyone thought.

The ninja looked about a head smaller than both Sasuke and Naruto. White gloves covered the ninja's hands.

"It's going to be me," the ninja answered Kakashi's question.

**

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Secret's out. Sasuke didn't do it. But then what happened? Only I know, MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH! Review and you'll know too. (sooner of later).  
**

**Man, I really outdid myself this chapter is ****long. ****But I may not update soon because I'm suppose to read some gay book, which I haven't even started, before school starts again soo… when I come back I'm looking foward to alot of reviwes!**

**Also can some one make up a random name so I can use it because I suck at making up names. So far I didn't tell you if it is a male or female so please give me suggestions for both sexes. Thank you! I'm looking foward to your suggestions!**

**Please Review!**


	13. An Unexpected Fight

**I'm so sorry for not updating earlier. Please don't kill me. **

**Thank you to all those who gave me suggestions for names!**

**I need to get something across. The ninja (I'm still not telling you if it's a male or female, but you are going to find out soon… a little too soon) (anyway) has**_** NO **_**emotions. Picture him/her colder and more distant than Sasuke and Itachi combined. **_**NO EMOTIONS!**_

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Thoughts_**

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Recap:**

"Who's it going to be?" Kakashi asked.

At that moment a strong chakra presence was felt and a ninja walked in. The ninja was dressed like an ambu, all covered up: a black robe with hood and a mask. Tied with a sash to his/her back was a two foot long metal bar.

_Most likely his/her weapon_, everyone thought.

The ninja looked about a head smaller than both Sasuke and Naruto. White gloves covered the ninja's hands.

"It's going to be me," the ninja answered Kakashi's question.

**End of Recap:**

_

* * *

That voice… it must be… a…. female, _Tsunade thought. "It's rude not to knock before you come in." 

"Hn. Hey, old lady, you have better sent a skilled ninja to my village. I'm the vest from the Village Hidden among the Stones so it better not be a waste that Lord Tsuchikage sent me here," the unknown girl said with no emotions.

"Don't worry. My own apprentice went. Wait…did you…call me old?!" Tsunade asked as a vein popped in her forehead.

"Yeah. Why?" she said with still no feelings.

"Your village must have weak, pathetic ninja, if you are the best," Sasuke's cold voice interrupted.

"What?"

"You heard me."

"Kid…do you want to take this outside?"

"I wouldn't want to hurt you."

"Don't worry. You won't." They were now glaring at each other.

"Uchiha, quit. She's our guest here," Tsunade interrupted.

"Uchiha? As in Sasuke Uchiha?"

"Hn."

"I thought you were a criminal. You are in my village's Bingo Book."

Tsunade cleared her throat to get everyone's attention and change the subject. "So… What can we call you?" she asked.

"I'm Saiyuki Chihiro," the girl responded.

"Saiyuki, meet your teacher, Kakashi Hatake, and your teammates: Sasuke Uchiha and Naruto Uzumaki."

"Those weaklings," there was a slight hint of disapproval in her voice. "They'll do nothing but hold me back."

Usually this would be the time for Naruto to scream 'I'm not weak. Believe it.' but he only stayed quiet. He was still thinking about what he had heard earlier. Everyone except Saiyuki noticed this and turned toward him.

"Naruto, is something wrong?" Kakashi asked.

Naruto quickly put a fake grin on and said, "No. I was just…thinking about how I'm going to beat her into the ground, no sweat," he lied.

"Tough guy, aren't you? But there is no way you can beat me."

"Alright everyone out! Go get acquainted with your new teammate. Leave. Now," Tsuande ordered.

Everyone started exiting. Kakashi noticed Naruto not budging an inch and decided to ask why. Naruto only responded saying, "You go ahead Kakashi Sensei. I'll catch up."

"Okay we will be on the training grounds."

_That girl… she had absolutely no emotions or feelings as we spoke, and her chakra feels so strong. _Tsunade thought as everyone left. Everyone except Naruto that is. She was too busy to notice Naruto was still there.

"Why?" he asked catching her off guard. She looked up and notice him. His face full of pain.

"Look Naruto, I wouldn't want Sakura to be replace by some unknown person either, but your squad was the only one who isn't complete."

"No. Not that. Why did you lie to me? Why did you tell me she died in a mission when she was actually killed by Sound? Why didn't you tell me Sasuke had been here and fought her?" Naruto asked all emotion leaving his voice.

Shock crossed the Hokage's face. She had not expected this. "Naruto… so you actually did hear. You see, when you came here, I suspected it had been Sasuke who killed her, but he says he didn't do it. If I had told you it was him who killed her, you would have gone after him. He could have help from Sound and you would be alone. They would have killed you. Besides, even if you wouldn't have gone after him, when he came, you would have agreed on him being put to death by the Elders."

"I wish I had."

"Naruto! You said yourself that he was like your brother. Now you want him to die?"

"Even if he didn't kill Sakura, he still holds some of the responsibility," Naruto said as he walked out. _Team Seven now including Saiyuki should be at the training grounds. Perfect. _He would make Sasuke pay. That he swore.

As he arrive he noticed Kakashi, Sasuke, and Saiyuki sitting under a tree's shade, waiting for him.

"Finally. What took you so long?" Kakashi was the fist to speak.

"Well, maybe, this time I got lost in the path of life," Naruto mocked Kakashi's lame excuse.

"Anyway… you three are here to spar…" he explained.

"What about you?" Saiyuki asked.

"What about me?" Kakashi saw the irritated faces made toward him and decided to answer. "Well, I'm going to oversee your training."

"More like read that book of yours," Naruto stated.

As soon as Naruto, Sasuke, and Saiyuki walked toward the center of the training field, surely Kakashi pulled out his Icha Icha book.

"I'll tell you what, you two can go against me. Just so it can be fair," Saiyuki said.

A smirk crossed both Naruto's and Sasuke's face. "Yeah, we'll show here what Leaf Village Shinobi are made of." Naruto yelled. _He won't suspect a thing being too distracted with her._

They all got in a fighting stance.

"On your mark, get set,…GO!" they all yelled at once.

Both Naruto and Sasuke ran toward Saiyuki, while she pulled out the metal bar she carried. She was about to do some sort of attack. Suddenly, Naruto turned toward an unguarded Sasuke and punched him right in the face. Sasuke was sent flying through the field and crashed into a tree.

"What the Fuck. We are suppose to be attacking her you idiot. Why did you attack me?!" Sasuke yelled already angry. He spit up the blood that was gathering in his mouth.

Naruto just stood there glaring at him.

"So…you are still angry about what I said to you when I came back."

Still there was no answer from Naruto. Saiyuki just stood in place watching the scene play before her eyes.

"Don't worry. I'm not going to use you anymore. You're pathetic. You couldn't even catch a cold if you tried so how could I expect you to catch Itachi."

The nine tailed fox's chakra was becoming visible around Naruto when he finally decided to speak. "I couldn't care less about what you would do to me. But…what you did to Sakura is unforgivable. It's your fault she's gone…"

"Is this what it is about, Sakura? I thought you didn't know."

Naruto ignored his question and continued speaking. "How could you even lay a finger on her? She was our teammate, like our sister, and you came and not only attack her, but the whole village along with Orochimaru. What's happened to you Sasuke?"

"I didn't kill her. If someone else did, then she deserved it for being so weak and useless. She always got on the way."

At that last sentence, Naruto grew infuriated and went for an attack on Sasuke. Sasuke flashed on his sharingan. (again I say: I suck at fighting scenes) They started exchanging blow for blow. Naruto crated about a hundred shadow clones which Sasuke quickly destroyed using his fire phoenix jutsu. They kept on attacking each other for some time.

Until they realize that this was not getting them anywhere; they would have to use something stronger. They both got a few feet apart and formed their respective attacks. Naruto powered up for the Rasengan while Sasuke made hand signs for chidori. They ran toward each other in an intent to kill.

They were only a few inches apart when Saiyuki appeared beside them. She grabbed their hands and threw both of their attacks off target.

"You two are a joke. You're supposed to be teammates and you're trying to kill each other like you are enemies," she said, still no emotions.

"Stay out of this! You don't even know why we are fighting!" Naruto yelled.

"You want to kill each other, fine," she said as she let their hand, which she had been holding, go. Just when Naruto and Sasuke where about to begin to fight again, Kakashi appeared and tied them up with chakra ropes.

"She's right. You shouldn't be fighting," Kakashi scolded.

"Sensei, you knew about the whole thing. You should be trying to kill Sasuke too. The idea of him hurting her… it makes me want to kill him."

"You, knucklehead, she was the one who almost killed me and you don't care about that. She had the chance, but her emotions got in the way. When I left her, I'm sure she was still alive," Sasuke explained while trying to struggle free. "Would you be this angry if she had killed me?"

Naruto stayed quiet. _Would I? How would I have felt? _He thought. Naruto finally freed himself. Without saying a word, he walked away.

Kakashi seeing Naruto leave, freed Sasuke from the ropes. _What am I going to do with those two? _"Saiyuki, did Lady Tsunade give you a place to live while you are here?" he asked while directing his attention toward her.

_The time while I'm here will be very interesting. _"No. I'll go talk to her about it." she finally answered as she poofed away.

"Come Sasuke, let's go home," They both walked in silence until Kakashi broke it. He had been curious about what he had heard Sasuke say to Naruto "So…Sakura almost killed you?"

"Hn." was Sasuke's only reply. He was too embarrassed to admit what had happened that day to talk about it_. Sakura…maybe Naruto was right: it's my fault you are gone because I hurt you. I'm sorry._

**

* * *

Wait! Sasuke is apologizing? Now I've seen everything.**

**I may or may not update soon because school is, like Shikamaru says, troublesome. Too much homework. plus i have to work and all that other stuff. **

**Please Review. The more reviews the faster I'll try to update.**


	14. The Mission

**Thank you for reviewing! I'm sorry for not updating faster but my internet connection messed up and yada yada yada.**

**Disclaimer: yes I have been forgetting it lately but just know that I don't own Naruto.**

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* * *

Thoughts_

**Flashback**

_**Thoughts within a flashback**_

**

* * *

Recap:  
**

Akashi seeing Naruto leave, freed Sasuke from the ropes. _What am I going to do with those two? _"Saiyuki, did Lady Tsunade give you a place to live while you are here?" he asked while directing his attention toward her.

_The time while I'm here will be very interesting. _"No. I'll go talk to her about it." she finally answered as she poofed away.

"Come Sasuke, let's go home," They both walked in silence until Kakashi broke it. He had been curious about what he had heard Sasuke say to Naruto "So…Sakura almost killed you?"

"Hn." was Sasuke's only reply. He was too embarrassed to admit what had happened that day to talk about it_. Sakura…maybe Naruto was right: it's my fault you are gone because I hurt you. I'm sorry._

**End of Recap!**

* * *

Knock. Knock. Saiyuki knocked on the Hokage's door. When she got an answer saying to come in, she opened the door and walked inside. She took a seat next to the Hokage's desk.

Tsunade was first to speak. "Saiyuki. How was your first day with you new team here in Konoha?" She looked up from her paper work. Saiyuki still wore the mask and robe; there was no telling how she looked like or anything else.

"Well, besides the dopey looking, blond kid and the emo Uchiha almost killing each other, okay I guess."

Tsunade's hands turned into tight fists. "What?!"

"They would be dead right now, if it wasn't for me. I stopped them just in time."

_I knew this was going to happen so why am I so surprised._

"Teammates trying to kill each other, that's …ridiculous. They would be better off alone."

Tsunade decided to change the subject. "So…why are you here?"

"Oh… I don't know…maybe it has something to do with me not having a place to stay at."

"Sorry. Too many things have happened today." Tsunade opened a drawer in her desk and pulled out a key. She handed it to Saiyuki. Then, she took a map from her desk and examined it. Let's see how good she is at memorizing things. "You're apartment where you will be staying at is North of here. Just walk straight two blocks, take a right when you see a red building, turn to your left after one block, two more blocks and turn south, walk about a mile and when you see an empty apartment go in. That is you temporary home. Don't worry; it's the only empty apartment there so there's no mistaking it. Did you get all that?"

"Hn. I got it." Saiyuki walked out with key in hand and headed toward her new home.

_She's good._

_**

* * *

**_

1Week Later 

Untouched, stacks of paper lay on the Hokage's desk. Tsunade wasn't even bothering to look at the papers. She had had enough for one day; too many missions and other things that she need to give permission to do. Instead she had a bottle of sake in her hand, taking a drink once in a while.

"You know, you should really let the drinks go. You've been doing that a lot lately."

"You're sounding like Shizune, Jiraiya," Tsunade told him. "By the way, where have you been?"

"Ah. Just doing a little research here and there." Jiraiya took a seat in a chair next to her desk. Tsunade offered him a drink, which he accepted, and she pulled another sake bottle from her desk.

"Perv." she said referring to his book.

"Actually, this had nothing to do with my book."

"So, what was it?" Her interest grew.

"The shinobi exchange thing you and the Land Hidden Among the Stones did."

"How did you find out? I hardly told anyone."

"Yes, but on the way to a little village north of here, I saw Shizune heading that way so I stopped her and asked."

**Flashback:**

_**Isn't that Shizune, **_**Jiraiya thought as he rested near a lake. He decided to go get a closer look.**

**Shizune sense Jiraiya's chakra signature and stopped. "Master Jiraiya!" **

**He approached her and asked, "Shizune, did your mistress send you on a solo mission?"**

"**Something like that. The Land Hidden Among the Stones and us were doing a shinobi exchange for a year. I volunteered to come," she explained.**

"**Who's coming to the Leaf Village?"**

"**That is unknown. Lady Tsunade told me that Lord Tsuchikage had said that there was no need to reveal the shinobi's identity."**

"**Hm…I see,but why would the Tsuchikage want a shinobi exchange now? Who is he sending?" Jiraiya paced back and forth trying to think of something. "I'm coming with you."**

"**What? Why?"**

"**One- I'm curious to why he's doing this now and two- I want to know who he is sending."**

**End of Flashback.**

"So…what did you find out?" Tsunade's curiosity grew and decided to ask the one question that had been bothering her. "Who is the person who the Tsuchikage sent? So far, I've only gotten her name, if that is her name, but nothing else; not how she looks, background, strength…nothing."

Jiraiya pulled out some papers and looked over them. "I didn't find much. She's in the Ambu Black Ops so that made it even more difficult. All Ambu information is kept secret. I only found this." He handed on of the papers to Tsunade.

Tsunade grabbed it and read over it. As she did, her eyes went wide with shock. "You're kidding me…this is all you found! Her mission records!"

"Look at them closely. Notice how all of the missions she goes in are Solo A-ranked or Solo S-class. All of them ending up in success. Don't you think it's weird how one girl goes in such perilous missions and manages to, not only come back alive, but also succeed in all of them? Never failing a single one."

"She did say she was the best from her village."

"Tsunade, I think you should watch this girl. There's something more to her than meets the eye. The villager's said that many times she was asked to become Tsuchikage, instead of the current one, but time after time she declined." They both took a drink of their sake. "So did you put her on a squad yet?"

"Yes, Squad Seven with Kakashi, Naruto, and Uchiha."

"Looks like Uchiha and Naruto just met their match. They trained under Legendary Sannin but who knows what kind of training she went under to be so skillful." Taking one final drink of sake, Jiraiya walked out of the office leaving Tsunade unaccompanied.

Meanwhile, Tsunade was trying to piece all of the information together in her mind. _Maybe this was a bad idea._

* * *

Ever since the 'accident', Squad Seven had not met. No one had talked to anyone. That is until today. Tsunade had not called on them before, thinking the tension between Sasuke and Naruto would increase even more than it had already had. An awkward silence filled the air as both Sasuke and Naruto walked toward the Hokage tower.

As they entered, they noticed Saiyuki and Kakashi already waiting for them. They took a seat.

"I've called you here because you have a mission." Kakashi was going to say something but was stopped. "I know Uchiha isn't supposed to leave the Village, but the Elders decided to test his loyalty." She directed her attention toward him. "Uchiha, you better not betray us or the consequences will be dire. Anyway, it's a C-ranked mission. The objective is to retrieve a stolen scroll from a group of three rogue ninja. They shouldn't be far from her."

"Do you know who these ninja are?" Kakashi asked.

"They are unknown. It is said that one is a really tall guy, one a kunoichi, and one some guy with a huge sword," she explained.

Sasuke tensed. _It can't be them!_

* * *

**I know it's short but i'm going to update soon, I promise.**

**Please Review!**


	15. No Way!

**Tsk…tsk…tsk… four reviews? What's wrong with you people? Come on Please Review they are really helpful and encouraging!**

**Anyway on with the story. ENJOY!**

**Disclaimer: Nope.**

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Thoughts _**

* * *

Recap:**

"Do you know who these ninja are?" Kakashi asked.

"They are unknown. It is said that one is a really tall guy, one a kunoichi, and one some guy with a huge sword," She explained

Sasuke tensed. _It can't be them!_

**End of Recap!**

* * *

"You are to leave in half an hour before they cross the border. Dismissed," Tsunade informed Team Seven. 

They all walked out. "Do any of you need something from home or can we go ahead and leave?" Kakashi asked.

"Leave," they all responded. They made their way to the gates. They went over their objective and made a plan. Soon they dashed out the village gates at top speed.

They traveled for an hour or so. Kakashi had been reading his porn book all the way. Naruto and Sasuke were competing for who could be faster. They seemed to be equal until Naruto tripped and fell face first on the ground.

"Idiot," Sasuke whispered.

Saiyuki didn't pay attention to any of this and just kept on running. Naruto quickly stood up and followed, acting like nothing had happened.

"We need to stop and rest," Kakashi stopped and announce when it became dark. "Naruto, you go look for food. I will look for firewood. Sayuki, you and Sasuke will set up camp."

Naruto left that site, incoherently mumbling something about why he had to be the one to look for food. Kakashi also left.

_Time to have some fun, _Saiyuki thought. "Sasuke? Can you help come help me move this huge rock so I can set up the tents here? I don't think I'm strong enough," she said with a smirk on her masked face.

Sasuke walked toward her and destroyed the rock.

_Arrogant, cocky bastard. _"Wow! You are really strong." She walked toward him with one finger outlining his abs. "You know you and I could have a lot of fun," she whispered to him.

_What's she doing? _Sasuke thought as his body tensed due to his hormones. Finally, he snapped and pinned her against the ground with his body on top. "Don't do that," he ordered.

"Do what Sa-su-ke?"

"Sasuke. What are you doing to Saiyuki? That position doesn't look right," Kakashi interrupted them.

Sasuke looked at their positions, quickly got off her, and turned around to hide his blush. Saiyuki could only smirk at his reaction. When Kakashi wasn't looking Sasuke asked, "What the heck were you trying to pull?"

"Hn." Saiyuki answered.

At that moment, Naruto came back.

"Naruto…where's the food?" Kakashi queried.

"Hehe! About that…" he sweat dropped, "I couldn't find anything..." His stomach started growling.

"I'll go look," Saiyuki volunteered.

Time passed, and she finally came back with food. They ate in silence and afterwards went into their individual tents to get a night's rest.

The next day, the team was awoken by the chakra presences felt near them. They quickly readied themselves and went after them.

"Well, well look who we have here. It's Sasuke and his team," one of the ninja announced when Team Seven caught up.

"Sasuke, do you know these gays, I mean guys," Naruto questioned while he held in the laughter from his own joke.

"Hn." I need to get at least one of them away from her. "Jugo, Karin, Suigetsu what do you want?"

"Well, you left us so we came to look for you. We figured if we stole something, someone would come after us. We were just lucky it was you. Here's the scroll, we have no need for it." Karin tossed the scroll to Sasuke. Sasuke caught it and threw it to Kakashi.

"We have what we wanted. Let's go back," Kakashi ordered.

"Not so fast. We came for Sasuke. He's coming with us!" Karin shouted.

"Kakashi Sensei, take the scroll back to the Leaf Village. We can handle these clowns," Naruto told him.

"Hm… alright," he said as he left.

As soon as Kakashi left, everyone began fighting.

* * *

Sasuke vs. Jugo **(okay as many of you may have noticed, I have not seen this far in the anime so I'm making this up as I go. Sorry!)**

Sasuke was fighting Jugo. Little by little Sasuke was leading him into another direction. Each punch or kick Jugo would make, Sasuke kept on going in a different direction. _I need to talk to him._

"Sasuke what's wrong? You aren't even fighting back," Jugo asked as he tried to land a punch on Sasuke's face. Sasuke dodged and went farther and farther away from Saiyuki and Naruto.

* * *

Naruto vs. Suigetsu

Naruto saw that without the nine-tailed fox's chakra, he would have no chance in defeating him.

Why is Sasuke going in that direction? Naruto wandered as he blocked a fierce kick. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" he yelled. "Go after Sasuke." he ordered one of his one hundred clones. The clone obeyed and went after him. He then concentrated on the fight. His clones were being demolished one by one by Suigetsu. Naruto summoned the nine-tailed fox's chakra and launched himself for an attack.

Suigetsu quickly dodged the attack. He caught Naruto's foot and threw him in the direction he had come from, making him crash into a tree.

Naruto quickly stood up and formed more clones. "It's time for a lesson from Naruto's Ninja Handbook!" One clone came under Suigetsu and yelled "Na…" Suigetsu was thrown into the air. Two more clones kicked him even higher wile saying "…ruto…" then two more clones appeared above, kicked him into the ground, and yelled "…Uzumaki Barrage!" **(Is that how he does it? Oh well, close enough.) **The original Naruto stood behind watching Suigetsu crash into the ground. _It's time to end this! _Naruto powered up for the Rasengan, ran toward him, and "RASENGAN!" hit him right in the stomach just as he was standing up.

"Ahh!" Suigetsu fell backward to the ground defeated. He looked like he was dead. What Naruto hadn't seen, though, was that his attack had gone right trough his watery form.

"Hehe!" Naruto smiled. _I should go see how Saiyuki's fight is going._

* * *

Saiyuki vs. Karin

"Do you think you can take Sasuke away from me?" Karin shouted.

"Take him from you? He wasn't even with you so how can I take him from you. Besides I don't 'want' him. You can take him for all I care," Saiyuki's stoic voice answered.

"Liar. I bet deep inside you want him all for yourself!"

"I've had enough of this senseless arguing. This mission only required to retrieve a scroll not to argue with some imbecile. Kakashi has the scroll so I'm out of here. No point in wasting my time." Saiyuki was about to leave when she sensed Karin right behind her. She turned around to meet a punch to the stomach. She was thrown off a few feet away and finally regained her balance.

"I'm no waste of time and definitely not an imbecile!" Karin was fuming. "You're just jealous, Sasuke once picked me to be in his team and he's only with you because he has to."

Something inside Saiyuki snapped. The once stoic girl became enraged. She dashed toward Karin, threw kunai at her, which she dodged, and as quick as lightning appeared in front of her only to kick her right in the stomach. "Don't. Mess. With. Me." she threatened before going into her usual stoic state.

Karin stood up, her lags barely able to support her weight. _That was a strong kick. I can barely stand._

"If you want a fight so bad, I'll give it to you. Just don't say I didn't warn you," she cautioned.

Ignoring the warning, Karin got in a fighting stance.

Saiyuki unsheathed the metal bar tied to her back. She exerted chakra into it and it looked like it doubled or tripled in size. Taking it in one hand she ran toward Karin. Karin tried punching her, but Saiyuki dodged, squated down, and hit her on her feet, making her fall. Electric waves ran through Karin's body. "Ahh!" she screamed.

"If you are wondering what just happened, let me explain. This is just an average metal bar, but when I exert my chakra into it, it's no longer regular. My chakra is becomes the weapon itself. I use my chakra to exert shock waves into your body, making you weaker. Let's face it, right now you can't kill me."

* * *

Suigetsu stood up slowly so slowly just so Naruto would not hear a thing. 

Naruto was walking in Saiyuki's direction. He was oblivious to the person behind him and who wouldn't he thought he had killed him. With a big grin on his face and his hands behind the back of his head, he walked toward his destination.

"Hey, kid!"

"Huh??!!!" Before Naruto could say anything else, Suigetsu punched his lights out.

At that moment, he looked into the direction where Karin and Saiyuki were and) saw Karin being beaten…bad. Although he wouldn't admit it, he cared about his teammates. Right now one was in danger, and he needed to do something about it. He decide to go help, seeing that his opponent would be out for some time.

_

* * *

Great more company. _Saiyuki turned to meet Suigetsu's intense stare. "Where's Naruto?" 

"That kid! Ho wont be making an appearance for a while," Suigetsu answered.

_Uchiha where the fuck are you? _"More fun for me." sarcasm notable in her voice.

"Karin stay out of my way. I'll handle this." Karin nodded and stayed where she was.

Suigetsu ran toward Saiyuki with his sword in hand. He slashed, trying to score a hit, but Saiyuki blocked with her weapon. They did this for some time. Saiyuki would try to hit him and he would block or Suigetsu would try to hit her and she would block.

_Sasuke is leading Jugo away but why? _Karin wandered. _Wait, why am I in the sidelines? I'm going to make that bitch pay for threatening me. _She masked her chakra and ran toward the two fighting opponents.

Suigetsu notice her coming and stopped fighting back. This allowed Saiyuki to punch him making him crash into the ground. She was too distracted to notice Karin next to her.

* * *

Because of the nine-tailed fox's chakra, Naruto was able to recuperate sooner than expected. He rubbed his eyes and examined the area. Thoughts of the whole mission came back to him. "Where's the guy? I'm going to kill him!" Heard a loud crashing sound and ran faster sending chakra to his feet for support. When he arrived, he noticed Saiyuki had been fighting both the kunoichi and the sword guy he had been fighting earlier. 

"Saiyuki watch out!" he yelled.

Karin gathered all her strength and punched her right on the face. The mask flew off her face and broke in two when it hit the ground, revealing her face.

"No…way…!"

**

* * *

**

OMG what does she look like? What is Sasuke going to say to Jugo? The answers are for me to know and for you all to find out.

Questions, Comments, Concerns? _Please_ Review! 

**The more reviews I get the faster I'll try to update so it's up to you. I don't really care what you say even a smiley face is okay.**

**So here's a question for you all to think about. Why did Naruto say "no way"?**

**A) He's surprised to see how beautiful she is.**

**B) He's surprised to see how ugly she is.**

**C) It's Orochimaru. Everybody hide!**

**D) It's Sakura.**

**E) Other. explain**


	16. The End of the Mission

**I'm so sorry. I had promised I would update soon but I have been really really sick. I could hardly get up from my bed.**

**So (Drum sound) let's see … you were all…wrong! Wow nobody got it right. The answer was…well you read and find out for yourself but please read and you will be pleasantly surprised (later).**

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* * *

Thoughts _

**Flashback**

**

* * *

Recap:**

"Saiyuki watch out!" he yelled.

Karin gathered all her strength and punched her right on the face. The mask flew off her face and broke in two when it hit the ground, revealing her face.

"No…way…!"

**End of Recap!**

* * *

"Quit toying with me, Sasuke!" Jugo yelled running after him.

I think we are far enough, Sasuke examined his surrounding. "Jugo stop fighting," he commanded.

"You just want me to drop my guard, don't you?" he asked as he stood still.

""Fire Style: Fire Ball Jutsu!" A huge ball of fire erupted from Sasuke's mouth and went in Jugo's direction.

_I knew it. I just had to drop my guard, didn't I? _He got ready to block it. "Huh?" The fire went right beside Jugo and continued further on. Poof! Jugo turned around. Smoke blocked his view. "What was that?"

"Naruto's clone. It had been following us for some time."

"Phew…for a second there, I thought you were trying to kill me. So that's your new team? You replaced us for them? They are to be the ones to help you with your revenge?"

"They would be really helpful if they cooperated, but…they are unwilling."

"So you'll come back with us? We need you to keep peace and order between Karin, Suigetsu, and I."

"I can't. The Leaf Village has me under close inspection. If I try anything against it, chances are they'll kill me on the spot."

"So how will you kill Itachi then? Are you going to wait for him to come to you and say 'here I am Sasuke? You can kill me!' Face it in the conditions you are in, you'll die before you accomplish anything."

"Give me some time."

"Some time for what?"

"Wait a year or two and you'll find out. Now let's go back before we look suspicious. But first…" Sasuke ran over to Jugo and punched him sending him flying a few feet back.

Jugo coughed. He stood up. He had some scratches all over his body due to the impact. "WHAT WAS THAT FOR?" he yelled.

"I've already told you, so we won't look suspicious."

"Okay. So you won't mind if I do this, then." Jugo disappeared, then reappeared beside Sasuke, kicked him on his side, then punched him.

Sasuke stood up with a few scratches over him. "Let's go back. Go ahead so they won't see us coming back together. Once you join Suigetsu and Karin, leave right away…"

"Right." Jugo ran off in the direction where his teammates were at.

Sasuke watched as he disappeared in the distance. He stood there waiting for time to pass by. Finally, he decided to go see what had happened while he was gone.

* * *

The wind blew. There was silence between the four fighting shinobi.

"No way!" Naruto once again repeated. "She's…beautiful."

Suigetsu stood up and looked at Saiyuki. "Darn right. She's hot," Suigetsu agreed as he gawked at her appearance.

"Suigetsu! She's the enemy. You're supposed say I'm better," Karin wined.

Saiyuki stood in place. She took off the rove.

_Wow, she's got the body of a goddess! _Suigetsu thought.

Saiyuki was wearing a spaghetti strap shirt that clung to her petite body outlining her perfect curves and chest. The Ambu tattoo was tattooed on her left arm, and, of course, she still had the white gloves on her hands. She wore capri pants a little down below her knees. Bandages covered the rest of her legs down to the blue ninja sandals. She had dark brown eyes and shoulder length, black hair. Her face looked expressionless but the aura she was giving off guaranteed she was angry. Blood dripped from her mouth from the impact Karin's fist had made with her face. "Hehe," she fake laughed while wiping the blood from her rosy lips. "That wasn't a smart move." She disappeared but quickly reappeared in front of Karin to return the punch to the face she had received earlier from her. "Time to get serious and stop playing with excuses for ninja like you."

_She's been toying with me? How strong is this bitch? _Karin wondered as she crashed into a tree. As she tried to stand up, Saiyuki kicked her into the ground so she would stay down. She kept on smacking her into the ground. _She won't even let me stand up, much less attack._

* * *

"Ready for another round?" Naruto asked Suigetsu.

"Always," Suigetsu

* * *

replied. At that moment Jugo appeared beside Suigetsu. "Where's Sasuke?" Suigetsu asked.

"Not too far away from here," Jugo responded.

"YOU! WHAT DID YOU DO TO SASUKE?" Naruto yelled.

"Nothing really."

"YEAH RIGHT." Naruto charged and attacked Jugo. Jugo immediately lost control became blood-thirsty, and fought back. Suigetsu, not wanting to be left out of the fun, joined the fight.

_Ugh. Two against one? That's so unfair._ Naruto thought as he blocked punches and kicks that came toward him.

_That chakra…Jugo is fighting. Grr… I gave him an order but he disobeyed it. Idiot. _Sasuke immediately rushed into the fighting place.

**

* * *

**

In the Leaf Village 

Knock. Knock.

"come in." Tsunade said through the door. She had been sleeping on her desk and had been awaken. She quickly acted like she had been doing her job.

"Lady Tsunade, here's the you wanted," Kakashi said as he entered and noticed her acting normal.

"Huh? Oh yeah, that scroll? Where's the rest of the team?" She looked around trying to find Naruto, Sasuke, and Saiyuki.

"They had to stay behind to ensure the rogue ninja would not come back. I'm sure they'll be back in no time."

"Hm…As soon as the rest of the group comes back, let me know. Understood? As for now, I need to go check on things at the hospital."

"Yes." Kakashi walked out, not bothering to glance back at the tired Hokage. He closed the door and decided he should go home. There was no need for him anymore today. No point in staying around.

* * *

Naruto was doing a poor job of defending himself. He couldn't go against two heavily armed opponents. All he could do at the moment was block, but that wasn't getting him anywhere. Sasuke's chakra signature was getting nearer and nearer with every second that passed. Naruto became distracted when he felt it.

Jugo took this opportunity, concentrated and immense amount of chakra for one final blow and…

"Huh?" Naruto focused back on the fight and noticed a direct hit coming right toward him. He went into a trance. There was no time left to block or move out of the way. Smack! A direct hit. Bones broke and blood came out, but not from Naruto's body, from Sasuke's.

At the last second, Sasuke had seen the disadvantages Naruto held. He saw the attack going toward him and next thing he knew, he had broken bones all over his body.

"Ugh…" Sasuke fell to the floor, unable to stand up.

"Sasuke …why?"

**Flashback:**

**Team Seven was in the Land of Waves. Their battle with Zabuza was getting close to an end. Naruto and Sasuke were trapped within Haku's Crystal Ice Mirrors and no matter how many shadow clones Naruto created, they would all be destroyed one by one. Naruto had fainted due to chakra loss, which left Sasuke alone to fight Haku. Sasuke had gotten his Sharingan and it looked like soon he would win.**

**Haku had other plans, though. **_**I'll attack his friend.**_** He threw needles as Naruto only for Sasuke to be hit by them. At that moment, Naruto woke up.**

"**Sasuke, why?"**

"**I don't know my body just moved." **

"**I didn't ask for this. I never asked for your help. Yet, you saved me…"**

**Due to his injuries, Sasuke fell backward. "Loser," he managed to choke out before he passed out.**

**Naruto became furious. The nine-tailed fox's chakra started emitting out. **

**End of Flashback.**

Once again, like before, the nine-tailed fox's chakra poured out. _You saved my life again, Sasuke. I'll finish this like I did before._

* * *

Saiyuki pounced Karin into the ground when she felt Sasuke's chakra slowly fading way. She stopped and spotted Sasuke on the ground with Naruto beside him. Naruto emitted red chakra and by the feel of it, it was dangerously strong. _Uchiha is hurt. I should go see what's going on. This whore can't take much more anyway. _She rushed in Naruto's direction.

"Why'd you attack Sasuke?" Suigetsu yelled but Jugo stayed quiet.

Saiyuki knelt down beside the beat up body and checked for a pulse. _This is bad he's fading away. _She tore open his shirt out of desperation and allowed green healing chakra to come and go into Sasuke's body.

"Saiyuki, I didn't know you were a medic ninja," Naruto commented while looking at her.

She ignored him and continued with her task.

* * *

"They're distracted, lets get them before they get us," Suigetsu said and rushed in for another fight.

Naruto and Suigetsu began fighting, but this time Naruto was winning. He wanted to protect his friends and there would be nothing or no one who would hurt them as long as he was around.

Jugo had turned back to normal. He noticed the damage he had made while in his other state and remembered his talk with Sasuke. _We need to get out of here._

* * *

Karin stood up. She was determined to win. _I'll show Sasuke that I'm truly worthy. This one last hit will be my last and I will be victorious! _She gathered all of her chakra into her fist and stealthily walked toward Saiyuki.

* * *

"RASENGAN!" Naruto yelled. This time Suigetsu would not be getting up from that direct hit. He was walking toward Saiyuki when he noticed once again Karin going for a hit. He ran to stop her but was too late. Karin's fist made a big impact with Saiyuki's body. Due to her healing Sasuke and chakra loss in the previous fight she was knocked out. "Shit…" Saiyuki whispered as she fainted. This time she was not going to be getting up.

Naruto ran toward Karin and punched her. She coughed up blood. "I'm going to kill you. She was trying to save Sasuke."

Karin stared in awe. "Sasuke is hurt?" She put her hands on her stomach and started coughing more violently. _Maybe I shouldn't have used all of my chakra to knock the bitch out, _Karin thought as she fainted.

Naruto heard footsteps coming toward him. It was Jugo. He walked past him, grabbed Karin, and tossed her over his shoulder. He walked toward Suigetsu's direction and grabbed him too. "Take care of your teammates. I'm done fighting…for now," he told Naruto. Then, he vanished.

_What was that? I need to get Sasuke and Saiyuki to safety._ "I just need a little bit of chakra," he told the nine-tailed fox. The Kuubi granted him his wish. "Shadow Clone Jutsu." One more Naruto appeared. "You carry Sasuke," he ordered his clone. "I'll carry Saiy…" Silence. All he could do was stare hard. "S…aku…ra?!" he stuttered.

**

* * *

I'm so evil. Another cliff hanger!**

**Please Review! I'll try to update faster.**

**Now…why did Naruto say "Sakura"?**

**A. Because Saiyuki is Sakura. I've been trying to tell you that.**

**B. Because Sakura appeared in front of Naruto to help.**

**C. Because he wished that Sakura was there to help.**

**D. Other. Explain.**


	17. At the Hospital

**Thank you for all of the reviews. The answer…what answer? Oh, you mean that answer. Read and find out what it is!**

**Diclaimer: Quit asking! That's torture for me. (cries)**

**Enjoy**

**

* * *

Recap:**

Naruto heard footsteps coming toward him. It was Jugo. He walked past him, grabbed Karin, and tossed her over his shoulder. He walked toward Suigetsu's direction and grabbed him too. "Take care of your teammates. I'm done fighting…for now," he told Naruto. Then, he vanished.

_What was that? I need to get Sasuke and Saiyuki to safety._ "I just need a little bit of chakra," he told the nine-tailed fox. The Kuubi granted him his wish. "Shadow Clone Jutsu." One more Naruto appeared. "You carry Sasuke," he ordered his clone. "I'll carry Saiy…" Silence. All he could do was stare hard. "S…aku…ra?!" he stuttered.

**End of Recap.**

* * *

Naruto ran toward his fallen comrades.

"Sakura!" He couldn't believe it. She was right in front of his eyes. "You're not dead? You're not dead!" he whispered softly as tears welled up in his eyes.

"She's not dead, but she will be if you just keep on staring at her and don't get her to someone who can help her," the Nine-tailed fox told him.

The clone he had created grabbed Sasuke. While he grabbed Saiyuki/Sakura and carried her bridal style. _I'll get you to safety as soon as possible Sakura. Just hold on. _Both he and the clone began running in the Leaf Village's direction as fast as their feet could carry them. Meanwhile, he decided to have a conversation with the demon.

"I don't understand. Grandma Tsunade said Sakura was dead, and Sakura said she was Saiyuki. Until a little while ago, Sakura didn't look like Sakura. Now, she does. Everything looks like her; especially the unmistakably pink hair."

"Why they said she was dead, I do not comprehend. What I believe is that the girl was holding some sort of genjutsu to look different, but when she fainted she must have been low on chakra and the genjutsu fell. Why she did that, I do not know," the demon replied.

Naruto stayed quiet while trying to fit all the pieces of the puzzle together. So far no luck. He focused more chakra into his feet to run even faster.

Soon he was at the Village gates. He took a five second-bread to pant and continued running.

"You! State your purpose," the guards ordered, but were ignored as Naruto kept on running.

Naruto continued running, ignoring several confused looks people gave him as he passed by.

"Grandma Tsunade!" he yelled as he entered the hospital.

"Naruto, this is a hospital. Be quiet. What do you want? And how did you know I was here…" Tsunade glanced at the girl Naruto was carrying. Her eyes went wide with shock. "Sakura…" She shook her head. In an instant, sadness overcame her. "Naruto…what kind of sick joke are you playing? This can't be Sakura. I saw her body that day. She was dead."

"I'm not playing any kind of joke. This is Sakura and if you don't hurry, she will be dead. She and Sasuke are hurt badly."

Tsunade reacted quickly. "I need two stretchers over here," the Fifth Hokage yelled.

Immediately, two stretchers were brought in their direction. Sasuke and Sakura were placed on each one individually. They were taken into the emergency room, Tsunade walked behind, and Naruto's clone disappeared, leaving Naruto alone.

Naruto paced around the hospital. He couldn't keep still. How could he keep still when his two best friends were on the verge of life and death? Back and forth he would go, waiting for something to be said about their condition.

Finally, Tsunade came out of one of the rooms. She walked up to Naruto, and before she could say anything, Naruto yelled, "How are they?"

"How many times do I have to tell you to stay quiet? If you calm down, I'll tell you. Now sit down and stay down!" Tsunade ordered.

Naruto sat down in one of the chairs and waited impatiently for the Hokage to speak.

"Sasuke has a few fractured bones, but he will make a full recovery in no time," she informed. "He's already gained consciousness."

"What about Sakura?"

"Sakura…she's going to be fine. She just lost all of her chakra and needs a lot of rest to regain her strength." She tried to sound cheerful.

"That's a relief!" Naruto exhaled.

"Where was she?" Tsunade finally asked the question that had been bothering her.

"Where was who?"

"Sakura. I could have sworn she was …well dead. I saw her lifeless body, and where's Saiyuki?"

"Sakura was Saiyuki. I'm guessing she was holding some sort of genjutsu, and when she was knocked out, she turned back to normal."

"But…why would she leave the village?"

"Once she wakes up, we can ask her. Grandma Tsunade can I go see her now?"

"No."

"Why?"

"She's still not awake, and you'll wake her up. If you want to, you can go see Uchiha. But first, we have to treat your injuries."

"I'm fine." Naruto jumped up from the chair and ran in Sasuke's room's direction.

"Come back. I wasn't asking." she ordered, but Naruto kept on running.

Naruto went inside the room without knocking.

Bandages covered the damaged areas in Sasuke's body. He was looking out the window, until he heard the door swung open. Naruto had entered and interrupted his thoughts. He shifted from laying down and sat up and gave a questioning look to Naruto. "What do you want?"

Naruto ignored his question and instead began laughing. "You should take a look at yourself. You look like and elephant ran over you!" He moved closer and took a seat next to the bed.

"Hn."

"I'm not good with these kinds of things. I guess what I'm trying to say is thank you for saving my life. I could have been a goner."

"Hn."

"Arg. Can you say anything else besides that?" Naruto's patience left. He stood up.

"Hn." Sasuke said once more to get on Naruto's nerves.

"I give up," Naruto said as he slumped back into the chair.

"What happened to Ju… I mean those three guys?" Sasuke finally changed his vocabulary.

"Them? Well, after I beat the crap out of one of them, the rest got scared of my incredible strength and ran away!" he lied.

"Who's supposed to believe that story? I bet you wanted to run away, but they saw how pathetic and a waste of time you were and left," Sasuke joked.

"Well, it's half true."

"So what really happened?"

"I beat the crap out of that guy with the sword, and after that kunoichi knocked Saiyu…I mean Sakura out, she fainted due to chakra loss. Then that left me and that other guy, you had fought. But instead of fighting, he got the other two and left…"

"Sakura? Don't you mean Saiyuki?"

A huge smile spread across Naruto's face as he said the next sentences. "Sakura is alive! Saiyuki was Sakura!"

_Sakura's is alive? How?_

Naruto saw the confusion in Sasuke's face and decided to continue speaking. "It seems like she left the village after the attack for some reason. We still don't know why. Since she hasn't regained consciousness, we haven't been able to ask her."

Sasuke began to stand up. He was getting out of bet to go see her, but didn't have the strength to do it. So he fell on the floor.

"What are you doing? You still can't leave. You haven't recuperated," Naruto said as he helped him back on the bed.

"Hn." _I have to make sure it's her. I can't believe she's alive._ Sasuke decided not to struggle. He would just have to wait. Besides, there was no way he would win at the moment in his weakened state. He lay on the bed staring at the ceiling until he heard someone come in.

"Naruto! I told you, I have to treat your injuries. Now come with me!" Tsunade, who had just walked in, ordered.

"Grandma, I feel just fine," Naruto argued.

"Don't argue with me. Let's go."

He pouted. "Fine. See you later, Sasuke." Both Naruto and Tsunade walked out.

Tsunade led Naruto into one of the hospital rooms and began checking for any serious injuries. She found none, just a few minor ones here and there. She placed bandages around those injuries and told him he was fine. Naruto ran out the room back to Sasuke's room.

* * *

She opened her eyes. "Huh? Where am I?" Sakura whispered to no one. She looked around, baffled. She began to recognize the place as the Leaf Village Hospital. She stood up from the bed, her bare feet touching the cold floor. She caught site of a strand of pink hair covering her face. She took it in one hand and examined it. "No! The genjutsu fell?!" Until now she had not fully comprehended what had happened. "They know who I am?!" Tears began rolling down her cheeks. "Why did I have to agree to this fucking mission? This would have never happened if I would have never came. I just wanted to forget them and be forgotten." 

Suddenly, the door swung open. Sakura immediately wiped the tears away and looked expressionless.

"Oh! You are awake. I'll go call Lady Tsunade," the young nurse said as she walked out, leaving Sakura alone once again.

"I don't want to see anyone. I just wanted to be forgotten," she whispered to herself as she climbed back into the bed. She lay still waiting for her former sensei come and question her. _I wonder if I'm going to be punished for leaving the village. Maybe I should…_

**

* * *

Sorry that's it for now.**

**Questions, Comments, Concerns...Please review. I'm really trying to update sooner but too many things come up, but right now I've already began writing the next chapter. **

**What do you think Sakura is going to do?**

**A) Commit suicide**

**B) Run away**

**C) Stay and face the consequences**

**D) Other. Explain.**


	18. Questions

**Here's my next chapter! Yay! Better late than never (because then you don't get to know what happens).**

**Thanks for all the review! You never disappoint me. Keep on reviewing…please. **

**No, I'm not going to tell you the answer. You have to read to find out what it is.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. Just this story line so don't steal it. It's all I have.**

_

* * *

Thoughts_

**Sakura talking to inner**

**

* * *

Recap:**

Suddenly, the door swung open. Sakura immediately wiped the tears away and looked expressionless.

"Oh! You are awake. I'll go call Lady Tsunade," the young nurse said as she walked out, leaving Sakura alone once again.

"I don't want to see anyone. I just wanted to be forgotten," she whispered to herself as she climbed back into the bed. She lay still waiting for her former sensei come and question her. _I wonder if I'm going to be punished for leaving the village. Maybe I should…_

**End of Recap.**

* * *

The door at the hospital room swung open abruptly. "Lady Tsunade, she has awakened," the young nurse from before announced. 

Tsunade quickly stopped what she was doing and hurried out the door toward Sakura's room. She stopped at the door, wondering weather she should knock or not. Not wanting to invade certain privacy, she decided to knock and after not hearing an answer, she walked in. Too many emotions welled up inside her. In the end, she felt afraid to look at her student. _What if it was all just my imagination and she's just Saiyuki? _Slowly, she turned to face the bed where Sakura should have been, but she wasn't. The window beside the bed was wide open letting a cool breeze enter the room. _Where is she? _Tsunade quickly ran out the door toward Sasuke's. _Maybe she went there. _

She opened the door to the room but only found Naruto and Sasuke. She looked around. "Naruto, she's gone," her voice quivered.

Naruto only needed those three words to run out the door to look for her in her room. _Maybe she was just hiding. _

At first, Sasuke had no idea what they were talking about, but soon he realized it was Sakura who the Hokage was talking about. He tried to stand up so he could also help look for her but was in too much pain to stand up straight. He fell back on the bed.

"Stay in bed, Uchiha. You are no condition to be standing up, yet. We'll be back in a few minutes," the Hokage informed and ran out.

She found Naruto inside Sakura's room. His wide grin had disappeared and been replaced by a frown. "Why did she leave?"

"I don't know. What I do know is that she can't be far from here. She's still not at one hundred percent."

"I'm going to look for her," Naruto said as he jumped out the window.

* * *

Pant… 

Sakura ran through the village. People kept on staring at her, but she didn't care. She no longer cared about anything, just getting the heck out of there.

"Hey! That looks like Sakura some people whispered.

Sakura kept on running not even looking to where she was going. She bumped into a random pedestrian. "Move it!" she ordered as she pushed him out of the way.

The guy didn't respond because he was too busy drooling over her beauty.

_That's disgusting_. Sakura ignored him, went around him, and continued running. One way or another, she ended up in the old Team Seven training grounds. She stopped and examined the place while reminiscing about the old days. _Kakashi Sensei were did we go wrong? We used to be like a family. Now…we don't even talk to each other anymore_.

**You're running away from your problems again, aren't you? **Sakura's inner asked.

**What do you want? **Sakura snapped.

**You're such a coward! Why don't you just face Tsunade and everyone else? Come on, we are tough. We've dealt with things more complicated than this. **

**You are so funny. I'm the coward yet we are one. **

**You are the one who controls the body. If I could I would not run away.**

**I thought I had control of my emotions, but I was wrong. I can't stand to see them. The look of disappointment they give me.**

**STOP IT! When we left this village, we made a promise. We promised to let go of all feelings and emotions and up until now we had. Forget about those who made us suffer. We have to be strong. That's the only way all of the pain we have inside will go away.**

**You're right. We promised we would and we will. **

Once again, no emotion was written in Sakura's face. She walked up to a cherry blossom tree and sat down under its shade. "Now, I wait."

* * *

"Damn it! Where could she have gone in such a short period of time? She can't be far. She's probably too weak to even leave the village," Naruto whispered to himself as he ran through the streets of the Leaf Village. He looked one way and another trying to spot her pink-haired teammate, but he was having no luck. 

"Dude! I just saw the hottest chick ever. You know what's the weird thing? She had pink hair!" the guy that Sakura had bumped into earlier said.

Naruto heard what the boy said and quickly ran to his direction. "Which direction did she go to?"

"Huh?"

"The girl with the pink hair, in which direction did she go?"

"Why should I tell you? You probably want her for yourself. Before that happens, I'm going to find her."

Naruto grabbed the guy from the collar, got a kunai out of his pouch, and pointed it at his neck. "Tell me where she went or else," he gritted.

"Ah! Don't hurt me!" the guy said in a shrill girly voice. "She went in the direction of the training fields. Please don't kill me!"

Naruto threw him on the ground and ran toward the training grounds. "Sakura! Where are you?" he yelled when he arrived. He looked side to side, but couldn't find her. Suddenly, he spotted something pink under one of the cherry blossom trees. He ran full speed toward that direction. "Sakura!"

Sakura who had been looking at the ground looked up. She saw Naruto standing before her, but didn't say anything.

Naruto had been smiling because he had found her, but when he saw Sakura's expressionless face, his smile faded away. The happy, full of live look she once had, had disappeared. Now, she looked cold and distant. "Sakura, why'd you leave the hospital? You're still in no condition to be running around," he jokingly scolded.

"I don't like being the patient in a hospital," was Sakura's short, simple, emotionless reply.

"We should get you back. Grandma Tsunade is really worried." There was a hint of sadness in his voice.

"What do I care?"

"Sakura, what happened to you? You were never like this."

"Get used to it." She stood up and dusted herself off. She began walking. "Let's go." They walked back to the hospital in an uncomfortable silence. People kept on staring at them, but they didn't pay attention. They arrived at the hospital. Naruto entered first.

"I'll go look for Grandma Tsunade. Stay here," he said, then walked away. _What happened to you Sakura? You're not the same. Why? _Naruto wasn't paying attention to where he was going. He was only walking around. He was interrupted from his thoughts when he walked right into a wall, and fell backward. He sat up while rubbing his face.

"You should watch where you are going," Tsunade told him. "By the look on your face, I'd say you didn't find her, did you?"

Naruto stood up. While looking at the floor as if it was the most interesting thing in the world, he said, "I found her."

Tsunade's face brightened up. "Then why are you so gloomy?"

"She's not the same Sakura I once knew. She's changed so much; physically and…mentally."

"What do you mean?"

"You should go talk to her. Maybe she'll listen to you, Grandma." Naruto was concerned about her. He was hoping Tsunade would get through to her.

They walked toward Sakura. She was sitting in one of the chairs looking amazingly bored. Sakura noticed both Tsunade and Naruto walking toward her. She hid all emotions behind her stoic face as soon as they were right in front of her.

Tsunade saw how much she had changed physically. "How are you feeling, Sakura?" Tsunade asked. Her voice held contentment.

"Fine," Sakura answered, but didn't dare look at Tsunade for fear she might break down and cry or something.

"Then you won't mind if I ask you a few questions, will you?" Tsuande's voice became serious.

"Hn."

_Great! Now she's using Uchiha vocabulary. _"Let's go to my office. We can get more comfortable there," Tsunade suggested as she saw nurses and doctors trying to listen to the conversation.

Tsunade led the way. Sakura stood up and followed. Last, Naruto followed both kunoichis. Because of the uneasy silence, the walk to the Fifth Hokage's office seemed to take forever. All tree ninja entered and took a seat, once inside.

"Sakura, I'm going to cut to the chase. Why did you leave the Village Hidden in the Leaves?" Tsunade interrogated.

For the first time in a long time, Sakura looked at Tsunade in the face. Tsunade was shocked to see how expressionless her face had become. "This Village was holding me back. My emotions always got in the way of things. You once told me I mastered every jutsu you taught me, but deep inside you knew full well that because my emotions were in the way, I never mastered them to their full potential. So I left this village to forget everything and everyone that held me back: friends, family, and all bonds. And I did, I grew stronger away from here as you can see."

"…and you left to the Village Hidden Among the Stones?" Naruto asked.

"Naruto, you're not so dumb, after all. Well, at first, I wasn't going there. I just traveled around, looking for challenges and one way or another, I made my way there."

"So what did you do to make it look like you died?" Tsunade asked.

"That? It's simple really. One day I found a book here on your desk about how to change the appearance of dead ninja to make it look like your own. I copied the instructions and hand signs and practiced them. That jutsu really came in handy."

"Sakura, you had already improved so much. You didn't have to leave," Naruto uttered sadly. "You don't know how I felt when Grandma Tsunade told me you were dead. You and Sasuke are like my brother and sister. I thought that once again I had lost all of my family."

"Did you ever think about how I felt when you left me alone to train?" Sakura argued.

"…but you knew..."

"Knew what? I didn't know where you were. I worried about you. You never even sent some kind of message about how you were doing. There were times when I thought you were dead. I was alone."

Naruto lowered his head in shame. She was right after all. _She's right_. _I never sent her any kind of message. It's my fault._

Sakura smirked at this. She had mentally hit Naruto where it hurt him the most. She looked at Tsunade.

"When you first came here, why did you tell us you were Saiyuki Chihiro? Why were you hiding your appearance?" Tsunade asked to distract Sakura from blaming Naruto.

"Why should I have? It would have been better if you still thought I was dead."

There was silence in the room. Finally, Tsunade, who was thinking about something, spoke. "Sakura, I'm sorry…" she whispered.

_That's right apologize. _

Tsunade raised her voice. "I'm sorry, but since you left the village without permission, as Hokage I'm going to have to punish you."

"What?" both Naruto and Sakura said in unison. Naruto's voice more emotional, while Sakura's voice was without emotion.

**

* * *

Another cliffy? Sorry but that's it. If you want to know what happens you are going to have to read the next chapter.**

**Questions? Comments? Concerns? Please Review and tell me what you think about it. Thanks.**

**Also What do you think about the way Sakura acts? Do you think I should change the way she is acting?**

**What do you think Sakura's punishment will be?**

**A) Prison**

**B) Death Penalty**

**C) She's not going to be punished because she'll find some way around it.**

**D) She has to be watched and can't leave the village.**

**E) Other. Explain. **


	19. When Sasuke is Left Alone

**Thanks for the reviews, but to tell you the truth I wish I could get more. By the way you all have some awesome ideas about what could happen. **

**Many of you probably noticed the rating changed, that was because someone asked why it was rated M. I began to think 'why is it rate M' so i changed it. The rating may change again later.**

**Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto, I don't think it would be as popular as it is.**

_**ENJOY!**_

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_Thoughts_

**----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**Recap:**

There was silence in the room. Finally, Tsunade, who was thinking about something, spoke. "Sakura, I'm sorry…" she whispered.

_That's right, apologize. _

Tsunade raised her voice. "I'm sorry, but since you left the village without permission, as Hokage I'm going to have to punish you."

"What?" both Naruto and Sakura said in unison. Naruto's voice was more emotional, while Sakura's was without emotion.

**End of Recap**

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Sasuke lay in the room alone. _What's taking them so long, _the last Uchiha wondered. The door to the room opened. A young nurse came in. She was blushing furiously.

"D…do y…you ne…ed anything?" she stuttered.

"Where's the Hokage and Naruto?" Sasuke asked.

"They left to Lady Hokage's office…" She inched closer to him. "…but if you need something I can get it for you," she said in a seductive voice.

Sasuke ignored her. "Was anyone else with them?"

"Just some pink-haired weirdo." She moved closer until her knees bumped into the bed.

Sasuke took the opportunity to grab her wrist in his grip. "Don't call her that or else," he threatened.

"Ouch! You're hurting me," she complained.

Sasuke let her go. "Now get out of my sight." _Great just what I need, a fan girl ._

The nurse quickly got out of his sight. She didn't even bother to look back at him.

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"You're going to be punished. I'll call the Elders to discuss the situation," Tsunade said. She stood up from her desk and walked toward the door. She opened the door and tried to walk out, but something or someone was holding on to her.

"Grandma Tsunade, don't do it. There as to be some other way to solve this. We can think of something," Naruto pleaded.

Tsunade looked toward Sakura. She was as stoic as ever, until she smirked wickedly. Like she had some great idea.

"Hehe," she laughed. "You are going to punish me? Please! Don't even waste your time going to get the Elders," Sakura said.

"What do you mean?" Tsunade asked.

"Well, remember that day the Sound Village attacked the Leaf Village?" she waited for a response. She saw Tsunade nod and continued. "Before they attacked you called me into your office to warm me. You said yourself that if I ran away, nobody would hold it against me. It's kind of like you gave me permission to leave."

"You've always been smart, Sakura. This time you are smart to get around punishment, but…"

"That was because I thought we were going to lose. When I fought Uchiha, you probably already know I fought him, I was knocked out for some time. When I regained consciousness, I actually thought we had already lost or were losing," she said. "I should have killed Uchiha. I had the chance but I was too weak mentally," she whispered to herself. "I…loved him. There's nothing left of that now, just pure hatred."

"She's lost it…" Naruto walked toward her and shook her by the shoulders. "Sakura, this isn't you. Come on, Sakura, we can be a family again."

"A family? That's one of the reasons I left. Do you like it when I'm weak? When I can't defend myself? A family is just something to hold you back. That's the last thing I want." She turned toward Tsunade. "Beside's I have pledged my allegiance to the Village Hidden Among the Stones. I am no longer a shinobi from the Leaf Village, and in one year I will be going back to never return."

"Sakura…" Naruto said sadly. "Don't leave."

Sakura was unaffected by Naruto's tone. Instead she stood up and walked out. "See ya." Then she disappeared into smoke.

"Sakura I wasn't finished talking to you!" Tsunade yelled at the smoke.

"Sakura…She's so cold and distant."

"Naruto…don't worry. We'll get her back. Right now…she's hurt from all of the things that have happened in her life. She has gone into the darkness. We'll get her back, though, one way of another."

"I hope so." Naruto walked out. "Sasuke came back to us. Sakura will to."

Naruto walked slowly toward the ramen stand. He felt like he hadn't eaten in days. All this stress was also making him more hungry. He sat down in one of the stand's stools and ordered. "One pork ramen please."

"One second. Hey! It's you Naruto! Why so down?" the ramen man asked him as he served his freshly cooked ramen.

"It's …nothing."

"Hey, between you and me, there's a rumor spreading that there's a young ninja girl with pink hair. Some people say it might be your old teammate Sakura," he said.

Naruto ate some of his ramen. "That's because she is." He continued eating not bothering to explain anything.

Seeing there was something wrong with Naruto, the ramen man left him alone and went back to his daily routine.

For the first time ever, Naruto only ate one bowl of Ramen. He had lost all of his appetite after talking about Sakura. He paid the man and left toward the hospital. Maybe seeing Sasuke would cheer him up in some way.

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"Idiots, why don't they just pretend I'm dead? Doesn't matter. As soon as the year is over I'm out of here." Sakura walked around the village trying to find something interesting to occupy herself with. Finding nothing, she decided to go train.

At the training grounds, she trained until she was almost depleted of chakra. She went to sit down under a cool shady spot and stared at the clouds. _Clouds are so peaceful. No wonder Shikamaru liked watching them. I wonder if he still does._ Suddenly, a chakra presence was felt on top of the tree she was sitting under. Like a reflex, Sakura took out a kunai and threw it at the unknown ninja.

"Whoa! Sakura it's me," the male voice said.

"Kakashi," her piercing, cold voice said.

Kakashi came down from the tree. He had his famous pornography book in his hand. He put his book away in his pouch, and looked directly at Sakura. "Rumor's spread quickly in this village. People are saying you are back so I decided to investigate myself. I ended up here and here is where you are."

"Pfft… what do you want, Kakashi?" she asked.

"You've changed Sakura; both physically and mentally. You were always so cheerful."

"Change is inevitable."

"That's right, but you've changed too much even for your own good. What I really want to know is why you faked your death. There was no need for that. You made a lot of your friends suffer."

"I'll tell you what I told Naruto and Tsunade; this village was holding me back. There was no way I would become stronger with so many emotions clouding my judgment. Besides, what do you care? You never took the time to train me or even Naruto. Your favorite was always Uchiha. That's why you trained him and taught him new techniques. And for what? Just so he could run away like the chicken he is to Orochimaru. To betray this village but yet you have allowed him to live."

"You're right, but everyone deserves a second chance."

"I'm tired of you defending him. You never defended me when he called me the weakest link of the team. That's why I left, to prove you all wrong, especially him."

_She's right…every word of it. _Guilt, remorse, and many other emotions were going through Kakashi's head. "You are right and I'm sorry."

"Sorry doesn't cover it. Leave me alone."

"Just know that if there is ever a time when you feel like you need to talk to someone, I will always be here for you." With those last words, he disappeared into a puff of smoke.

"Hn."

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"Now, if I could only remember where Sasuke's room is at…" Naruto wondered out loud.

"Excuse me, are you lost? This is the seventh time you've passed through here. Maybe I can be of service," the nurse volunteered.

Naruto sweat dropped. "Actually…I am."

"Who are you looking for? I can go check which room that person is in."

"His name is Sasuke Uchiha."

"That jerk? He's in the second floor, the first door to your left," she said.

"Wow Lady! You must be really good at your job if you don't even have to look it up! Thanks," he shouted as he ran toward the flight of stairs.

"Sasuke!" he shouted as he opened the door. So loud it could be heard throughout the hospital. Naruto expected Sasuke to say something like 'not so loud idiot do you want to be heard by the whole village?' but instead there was only silence. "Sasuke?" He looked toward the bed. There was a lump covered by the bed sheets. _Maybe he's sleeping_. He wondered as he walked toward the bed closer and closer. "He's not moving? Someone attacked him. He's dead." He cried anime style. "Wake up, Sasuke," he cried as he shook the lump violently.

The sheets slipped to reveal a pillow. Naruto saw the pillow. Now they've turned him into a pillow!" he cried harder. "Why? Who?"

"What's all of the commotion in here?" a doctor asked Naruto.

"He's a pillow!"

"What? That's just a regular hospital pillow. Now put it down," the doctor explained.

Naruto stopped crying. He sweat dropped. "Umm… I knew that!" he lied. "I was just testing you doctor. You never know when someone could … you know…" Naruto couldn't make up anything so he ceased to speak.

"Where's the young man that was here?" the doctor asked. "He's not supposed to leave yet."

"You are right! Where is he?" Naruto examined his surroundings from side to side. He expected Sasuke to be hiding. Seconds then minutes passed but no sign of Sasuke. Naruto looked under the bed… still no Sasuke. "He's gone." Naruto finally gave up and said.

Naruto ran out of the building as fast as his feet could carry him. _I need to find Sasuke. He's still on probation, so he's not supposed to be alone. If Grandma finds out about this, she's going to chop his head off. That's what I get for leaving him alone. _Naruto ran around the village hoping he'd find him. The day was beginning to darken so it was going to be harder, if not impossible, to find him.

"SASUKE!" he yelled.

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**That's it for now. Sorry. ****Well, I'm off to work. When I come back I want A LOT of those lovely reviews.**

**Please keep on reviewing; a smiley face or anything else. I've already written the next chapter so the more reviews I get, the faster I'll type it.**

**Question: Where did Sasuke go? (Remember I can be very unpredictable)**

**A) He went to look for Sakura. **

**B) He left the village to go with Team Snake.**

**C) He just left the hospital to go home.**

**D) He's going to kill Itachi.**

**E) Other. Explain.**

**Holy Shit! I'm going to be late for work. Bye.(runs off)**


	20. Unexpected Encounter: Sasuke and Sakura

**Thanks for the reviews. I'm sorry I took so long to update.**

**So you can probably guess what the answer is by the title and if you can't well…**

_**Enjoy**_

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_Thoughts_

Sakura and inner talking

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**Recap:**

"Where's the young man that was here?" the doctor asked. "He's not supposed to leave yet."

"You are right! Where is he?" Naruto examined his surroundings from side to side. He expected Sasuke to be hiding. Seconds then minutes passed but no sign of Sasuke. Naruto looked under the bed… still no Sasuke. "He's gone." Naruto finally gave up and said.

Naruto ran out of the building as fast as his feet could carry him. _I need to find Sasuke. He's still in probation, so he's not supposed to be alone. If Grandma finds out about this, she's going to chop his head off. That's what I get for leaving him alone. _Naruto ran around the village hoping he'd find him. The day was beginning to darken so it was going to be harder, if not impossible, to find him.

"SASUKE!" he yelled.

**End of Recap**

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_It's getting late. I should go home, _Sakura thought. The first stars were already beginning to appear in the grayish sky. Sakura stretched and yawned. Then she began to walk toward her apartment. _There have been too many events going on today. I need a break. _Her stomach gave a sharp grow complaining it had had nothing to eat.

I forgot; I haven't had anything to eat. I need to get a bite." After some time of thinking, she decided to go the Ramen stand. It was closest to her apartment. She walked slowly toward the stand, hoping no more dramatizing events would occur.

"Beef Ramen," she ordered in her emotionless voice as she sat on the stool.

"Here you…go," the man said. He stared at Sakura like he had just seen a ghost. He quickly turned away, knowing he had been rude to stare.

_It's going to be a long road until everyone gets accustomed to the idea I'm not dead, _she thought. She picked up the chop sticks and began eating.

"Sakura! My youthful youth. The youthful rumors are true. Your youthfulness would not allow you to die such an unyouthful death," Rock Lee shouted in excitement.

Apparently, he had planned to eat there. Sakura just had to choose the wrong time to go there.

_Why did he have to come now? _Sakura inwardly sweat dropped. "Lee," she said.

"My youthful cherry blossom, you must tell me your youthful story of how you survived," he began to cry anime-style out of joy.

Sakura didn't feel like explaining herself, especially to him. "I'm not yours, and I don't think how I survived matters now," was all she said.

"You are right! Right now what does matter is that your youthful self is here and well. You will now be able to enjoy the youthfulness of friendship with everyone else!"

Rock Lee kept on talking about youthfulness. Youthfulness this. Youthfulness that. _Does he know anything besides that one word? _Sakura looked at the almost empty bowl of Ramen in disgust. _Great, now he I've lost my appetite because of him. _"I've got to go. I have things to do," she told him. _Much better things that have __nothing__ to do with youthfulness._

"Right, Sakura. You have important duties to fulfill. Bla, bla, bla, bla."

Sakura paid the man and left Lee talking to himself. As she disappeared into the darkness Ino and her team arrived to meet Rock Lee.

"I don't see why we had to come here. We could have gone somewhere where there's lots of meat," Choji complained.

"Troublesome. I didn't want to even come, but someone literally dragged me here," Shikamaru directed his attention to Ino. Ino looked paralyzed. "Ino are you okay?" he asked his stationary teammate.

"That looked like Sakura," she said slowly.

"My ever-so youthful friends! I am glad you could come!"

"Was that Sakura?" Ino questioned Rock Lee.

"Yes! She has been alive all of this time, but come we must celebrate her return. Too bad she couldn't stay, but we can still celebrate."

"Troublesome," Shikamaru said.

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"There has to be a map somewhere around here. At least something that says where she is living. I must talk to her," Sasuke whispered to himself. He was looking from top to bottom in the Hokage's office. The darkness wasn't helping him, but he couldn't jut turn the lights on. Someone would come in to check the place. He kept on digging through the desk's drawers. Anywhere he could see, he'd look in there. Unfortunately, luck was not on his side. He couldn't find anything and I sounded like the Fifth Hokage, along with someone else, was making their way to the office.

"Shit!" he whispered. He looked frantically anyplace he had missed before.

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"Jiraiya, you old goat, that's the last time I go anywhere with you. How dare you say I'm old. You look a lot older," the Tsunade scolded.

"Tsunade look at yourself. You're probably in your sixties already." Jiraiya said. Tsunade gave him a deadly glare. "What I really meant to say is that you may be old but you look as beautiful as ever."

Tsunade opened the door to here office. The windows were wide open. "That's weird."

"What is?"

"I don't remember leaving the windows open or even opening them."

"Maybe someone decided to let the old lady smell out of here," Jiraiya joked. Which, in turn, made Tsunade elbow him in his stomach with brute force.

Tsunade walked toward her desk, sat down, and pulled out a bottle of sake and two cups.

Jiraiya stood in place rubbing the spot where Tsunade had hit him. "What a temper," he whispered.

"Would you like to repeat that?" she asked.

"Nothing." He walked toward a chair near the desk, took one of the cups in which Tsunade had poured sake, and drank from it.

"You were too busy reminiscing about the old days to let me explain why I had summoned you," Tsunade scolded.

"What did you want to talk about?"

"Before I tell you, I want to ask you something. Have you found anything about the Village Hidden Among the Stones?"

"I have been doing research, but to tell you the truth, I haven't found anything of importance. That village has all of its information secluded. Why do you ask?"

"Well that girl…"

"Saiyuki Chihiro? Has she created some kind of problem?"

"No, it turns out that Saiyuki was Sakura holding some kind of Genjutsu."

"What?! You said she was dead."

"Yes, but she did some jutsu to fake her death and left the Leaf Village."

"So, what's going to be her punishment?"

"She's not going to have any."

"Tsunade she left the village. She may have been your student, but…"

"…but she was smart enough to find a way around it."

"Why did she leave?"

"Until now, she only gave us some bogus reason, but I think there's more to it. Jiraiya you knew Sakura. She was such a happy child, but now you couldn't even recognize her. She has changed so much. That's why I want to know about the village. They may have brainwashed her."

"I see." There was silence for a moment as they both drank their sake. "Tsunade I'll see what I find out, but I do not guarantee anything." Jiraiya stood up and left the office. Tsunade was left alone.

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"Shit. I couldn't find anything. At least I got out of there before they discovered me," Sasuke said to himself. He was walking through the empty streets of the Leaf Village, hoping he'd find some kind of sign. In a short time, he would not be able to tell where he was because it was getting darker. Clouds were covering the only light source, the moon.

A person was walking in the opposite direction he was. The shadow could be seen, and apparently that person couldn't tell where they were going because of the darkness.

Because of the increased darkness, Sasuke could hardly see. He couldn't even see the person walking right toward him.

They both continued walking deep in their own thoughts until they bumped into each other and fell backward.

Sasuke quickly stood up and offered a helping hand to the unknown person. The person slapped his hand away. "I don't need your help. Besides, you need to watch where you are going, moron," a feminine cold voice said.

"You're the one who bumped into me, idiot," Sasuke retorted.

The girl stood up. Standing face to face with her, made Sasuke realize it was the person he had been looking for. "Sakura…" he said.

Sakura looked at the person who had just said her name. _It's him. _"I didn't expect to find you in the middle of a street, Uchiha. Shouldn't you still be at the hospital?" she said in the coldest voice she could muster.

_Uchiha? _"No, shouldn't you?" he asked her while answering her question.

"I can heal myself. You should have learned that from the last time we met," she said with venom in her voice. She was referring to the time Sound had attacked Leaf, and they had fought.

There was an uneasy silence between the two. Finally Sasuke spoke. "You've changed, Sakura."

"That's what a near death experience will do to you. You realize what you've done wrong and you change for the better. In my case, I realize that you had always been correct."

"How so?"

"All emotions, feelings, and bonds do is hold you back fro your true potential. Now I see why you were always superior to everyone else; you were always cold and distant. Unlike me, I was little Miss Sunshine, but that's all changed. Uchiha I hope you are prepared because I'm going to make your life a living hell just like you made mine; calling me weak, pathetic, useless,…annoying."

"Sakura, I…"

"When I loved you, I was willing to give you everything I had, but you left and you never even saw me as a worthy teammate. I had to deal with all of your rejections. So I decided to dedicate my life to forgetting about you. One day, Uchiha, you will understand that you have lost more than I have. I can be happy without you. Someone will take the place you never wanted in my heart, but it's going to be too late when you realize it."

"Sakura, about to years ago, I never meant to hurt you when we fought, I…" Sasuke began.

"I don't care what you have to say, nothing is going to change between us. We are no longer 'friends.' We are hardly teammates. Now you are nothing but a waste of my time," Sakura said. She began walking away. She stopped only to say, "See you tomorrow at training, Uchiha," Then she disappeared into he darkness of the night.

"Sakura, what have I done to you?" Sasuke wondered.

At that moment, Naruto found Sasuke. "Bastard where have you been? Do you realize Grandma Tsunade would hang you for not being watched by someone?" he asked.

"Hn."

"Why'd you leave anyway?"

"I don't like hospitals," he told half the truth.

"Let's go. You can stay with me for the night."

"I met with Sakura," Sasuke commented.

Naruto froze in place. "You what?"

"She is really different. What happened?"

"I don't want to talk about it now. We can talk about this later. Let's go." Both Naruto and Sasuke walked toward Naruto's home.

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Man, he looked hot! Sakura's inner drooled.

We are supposed to hate him. Sakura argued.

Yeah but I can't help to admire him.

You are hopeless.

Although, I can't help to admire how tough you acted with him. Now he'll think twice before mocking us again.

I swear that I will let all this love I feel toward him go. I can't and I won't let him hurt me any more. I'll just push all my feelings toward him aside. He will pay. Sakura vowed.

You said it! We will forget that we love him. That is a promise.

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**Awww she does love him! Okay that's it for now.**

**Please Review! I couldn't think of a question to ask so if you have any questions, I'll try to answer them.**

**Don't forget to review, please. Thank you!**


	21. A Day at Training: Peace or Chaos?

_**SPRING BREAK!!!!!!!!!!!**_

**I'm sorry I hadn't updated. I lost inspiration because I didn't get many reviews, but, to make it up, I made this chapter extra looooong! I just hope I get more reviews, that's all I ask.**

**Disclaimer: Never have, never will, never shall**

**Enjoy**

**Warning: sucky fighting scene ahead.**

_

* * *

Thoughts_

Sakura and inner talking

**Flashback**

**

* * *

Recap:**

Although, I can't help to admire how tough you acted with him. Now he'll think twice before mocking us again.

I swear that I will let all this love I feel toward him go. I can't and I won't let him hurt me any more. I'll just push all my feelings toward him aside. He will pay. Sakura vowed.

You said it! We will forget that we love him. That is a promise.

**End of Recap**

* * *

"Zzz…" 

"Dweeb, it's time to go training," Sasuke tried to wake up Naruto.

"Zzz…"

"Loser, get up." Still there was no sign of Naruto waking up. Sasuke wasn't in the mood for this. _Why me?_

"Zzz…snore…zzz…"

"NARUTO." Naruto kept on sleeping. "Naruto, they're giving free Ramen at Ichiruka's Ramen Shop…"

"WHERE?" Naruto yelled and quickly stood up and got dressed in less than five seconds. "So, Sasuke where are they giving free ramen?"

Sasuke twitched. _How gullible is he?  
_

"Hurry up, tell me. By the time we get there, there won't be any left."

"Loser, I just said that so you would get up. Apparently, that's the only way to get you up."

Naruto walked toward his bed and laid back down. "Don't ever lie about that again. Ramen is not something to play around with," he sulked and with those words, he covered himself with the bed covers and fell back to sleep.

"FIRE STYLE: FIRE BALL JUTSU!"

"Ahh!" Naruto quickly got up fro his bed and rolled over in the ground like an idiot. "Why'd you do that for?"

"Kakashi called us for training."

"Did you have to try to kill me?"

"It's not my fault. You wouldn't wake up. Now let's go."

"Hmph." Naruto pouted. "Hey, how did you manage to not burn the entire building?"

"I was trying to wake you up not destroy the whole freaking building."

Naruto and Sasuke were walking toward the training grounds, but they had a feeling that someone was following them. Every time they would turn around, though, they wouldn't see anyone.

"Look! There he is, Sasuke!" hundreds of fan girls shouted with joy visible on their eyes. They all stampeded toward him.

"I think it's time to run," Naruto suggested. Both Sasuke and Naruto ran at full speed to get away, hoping to lose the desperate fan girls. "Faster."

* * *

"Yawn!" Sakura looked around in the small apartment to see what she could wear. Ever since she had move in there, she had only gone shopping once so she didn't have much of anything. Through much search, she finally found the perfect outfit and put it on. (If you are wondering what it looks like, it's the one she wears in Shippuuden.) She made sure to lock her small apartment and left. 

"Sakura!" someone shouted her name behind her.

"Ino." Sakura noticed her running toward her.

"I'm so glad you are not dead. Where have you been?" Ino asked as she hugged her once best friend.

Sakura didn't reply to the affection shown. She stood still. "I have to go."

"Wait, we need to talk. Everything here has changed. We should go shopping or something." At last, Ino noticed the emotionless look on Sakura's face.

"That's right everything has changed, but why bother? I'm leaving this place in less than a year."

"Why?" Ino asked but was not answered. Instead, Sakura began to walk away, leaving a confused Ino. _What's happened to you Sakura?_

Sakura was the first to arrive at the bridge. There was silence until shrill girly voices could be heard in the distance.

Naruto and Sasuke were still running at full speed to avoid the fan girls, but not progress in losing them had been made. They both hid behind a tree hoping to go unnoticed.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't Forehead girl," one of the fan girls said as she pointed a finger at Sakura. "No wonder it still feels crowded around here. Your forehead is still taking up an enormous amount of space. Why don't you do us all a favor and just die?"

Sakura shot them a deadly glare. "Hehe. I should be asking you the same thing. In fact, why don't I do the honors of killing you?" She walked closer to the one who had spoken earlier.

They all backed away, afraid. "You wouldn't kill me. You're probably not even strong enough. That's why Sasuke hates you."

Sakura turned her hand into a tight fist, making her knuckles white. She was about to attack, but at that moment Sasuke came behind her and held her back from doing anything stupid. "Sakura that's enough," he told her. Then he directed his attention to the fan girls. "All of you leave now or else," he threatened.

"Fine, but only because you ask us Sasuke, not because of Billboard brow." They all ran off.

"Let go of me," Sakura's icy cold voice demanded. Sasuke let her go.

Naruto came out from behind the tree. "Are they gone?"

"Hn," Sasuke replied.

All three members of Squad seven stood in silence awaiting their Sensei's late appearance. Even Naruto was being quiet for once. Poof! "Hello!" Kakashi greeted.

Naruto stared wide-eyed at Kakashi. "Whoa, I'm going crazy. I'm seeing Kakashi Sensei two hours earlier than usual.

"Yeah, well, there's always a first time for everything," he said as he rubbed the back of his head and smiled. "I see we are all here so let's begin. Today we will go easy and just spar…"

"Kakashi Sensei will you spar with me?" Naruto interrupted.

"Well…" Kakashi began. _This is tough. I have no idea if I should or not. If I do, that will leave Sasuke and Sakura. Sakura could still resent the fact that Sasuke tried to kill her and try to kill him. _Suddenly, he felt his favorite book being slipped out of his back pocket.

"If you want it back you'll have to work for it, Sensei," Naruto yelled with the book in hand and ran toward town, leading him into a wild-goose chase.

"NARUTO GET BACK HERE!" Kakashi demanded and quickly ran after him.

Sasuke and Sakura stood looking at the vanishing figures of Kakashi and Naruto. They both took a quick glance at each other, awaiting for the other to say something, but the intense silence was dominant. Silence, no one spoke.

"What a waste of time," Sakura finally broke the eerie silence. She began to walk away until Sasuke stopped her.

"Kakashi said we should spar. He left with Naruto so that leaves the two of us. That is unless you are scared," Sasuke challenged.

Sakura turned around to face him. "I, Sakura Haruno, am not scared of some chicken-haired, emo bastard. If anything, it's because I don't want to hurt you."

"Hn." _She may act tough, but I'll break her. She's perfect for completing the second part of my goal: restore my clan. _

They both walked in silence toward an open field. They both took a look at their surroundings, calculating the advantages and disadvantages.

"I'll try not to make you look too bad," Sasuke told her and readied himself. He smirked.

"What?" _I'll wipe that stupid smirk off your pretty little face._

"Come now Sakura, must we go through this again? You know you can't hurt me. Your feelings get in the way. That was proven two years ago."

He's using mind games. Don't listen to him. Inner Sakura said.

But…he's right. Sakura told her.

Don't listen to him.

He's right.

Snap out of it. WE ARE STRONG!

At that moment Sakura ran toward Sasuke with a chakra-full fist.

_I think I hit a soft spot. _Sasuke immediately activated his sharing an. With every passing moment Sakura inched closer to him. She aimed with her fist at his face. Sasuke moved his head out of the way and leaned over to Sakura's ear and whispered, "See, I told you. Your emotions are getting in the way. When around me, you can't control them no matter how hard you try."

"SHUT UP!" she yelled and moved away from him. She kept on aiming for him but nothing seemed to work.

**Flashback:**

"**Sakura, I hear great things about you," a smug voice said.**

"**Thank you." Sakura smiled brightly at the newly appointed Tsuchikage. After the last one had unexpectedly died, the Village Hidden Among the Stones had had a difficult time finding one. Finally, one had been found.**

"…**but…" he hesitated in continuing and looked out a wide, opened window to the whole village.**

"…**but what?" Sakura stepped closer, as if it was some secret the Tsuchikage was about to reveal.**

"**I can't help but feel you have hidden talents. Talents, which you have not yet discovered. You could be much stronger. You could gain so much power."**

"**How?"**

"**Destroy all of your emotions," he answered simply. "Your emotions get in the way too much. No one would dare push you around any more."**

**Sakura stayed quiet. She knew he was right. She wanted to prove to Sasuke that she could be more than a stupid, useless burden.**

"**I can see in your eyes that power is something you loath for."**

**Sakura gasped. Everything he was saying was correct. **_**I'll do it. **_**"What do I have to do?" Sakura's voice grew dead serious.**

**A cynical smile spread across the current Tsuchikage's face. "You've made the right decision, my dear." Then everything went black for Sakura. Thump.**

**The next day Sakura walked to the Tsuchikage's office. After a 'come in' she walked inside. "Lord Tsuchikage, I feel much stronger." Her voice was now cold and indifferent. There was no emotions written in her stoic face.**

"**Of course you do. You no longer have emotions. No longer will anyone push you around." That cynical smile of his once again became plastered in his face and let a short, foul laugh. **

**End of Flashback.**

_Ever since that day, I could control my emotions. Why can't I do it now? _Sakura thought. There was a fair distance between them. She saw him standing so unaffected by anything. _I will not let him get the best of me. _She grabbed shurinken out of her pouch and launched them at him.

Sasuke avoided all of them easily. "Don't tell me you are getting tired already," he mocked.

"No I'm just getting started." Once again Sakura ran toward him at full speed. Sasuke moved so fast Sakura could hardly see him. Next thing she knew, Sasuke was right behind her with a kunai on her throat.

"Give up Sa-ku-ra," he whispered.

"No."

"There's no point in going on; you've lost." He saw her clenched fist turning white. He tried to get a side-view of her face for any sign of defeat. Instead, he saw something totally different. _It can't be_! Sasuke became distracted and gave Sakura the opportunity to strike him on the stomach with her elbow with and amazing amount of strength. Sasuke was pushed back a few feet, but he immediately regained his composure. _I'm seeing things. There's no way that could have been…_

"Uchiha, if I were you I'd concentrate on the fight," Sakura warned while coming down on him with chakra-loaded fists. Sasuke moved out of the way which made Sakura make the impact with the ground.

Sakura once again ran toward him, ready to make him suffer at her hands. Sasuke grabbed her right, chakra loaded fist before it made contact with anything else. "Sakura, stop this."

Sakura ignored him and sent chakra to her other fist and punched him so hard, if it had been anyone else, their living daylights would have been turned off, but Sasuke had managed to move a little. She had only damaged his arm.

He landed on the ground and stood up with much pain in his arm. He wiped the blood that was beginning to seep out. "If that's how you want it, fine." Sasuke charged toward her and both exchanged blow for blow, kick for kick. When Sasuke seemed to land a hit on her, she would turn into a log or something else. _She's strong._ At the moment, the odds seemed against the last Uchiha.

_I'll make you pay Sasuke. _Sakura gathered all of her chakra she could into her fist for one final blow. She sent some chakra to her feet in order to increase her speed. Then she ran toward Sasuke, ready to strike.

_She's coming. What is that attack? It's really strong. _Sasuke immediate tried to do the hand signs for chidori but, because of his injured arm, it was impossible. He became traumatized by the power Sakura possessed in one single attack. When he snapped out of his trance, he notice it was too late to dodge it.

Sakura continued running toward him and noticed he was not moving. _If you aren't moving just so I'll stop and then you can catch me off guard, then you are deeply mistaken._

_It's over._ Sasuke thought. _Is this the end? _He shut his eyes tightly awaiting his end, but it never came.

"What do you think you are doing?" the fifth Hokage demanded to know. "This is far beyond any friendly spar. You could have killed each other."

Sasuke realize what had happened; Tsunade had came to the rescue. He opened his eyes and saw Tsunade holding Sakura's wrist to stop her from attacking. When the attack had vanished, Tsunade let her go.

Sakura fell on her hands and knees, panting. _What was I thinking? I couldn't control myself. _"I'm sorry," she whispered as regret washed over her.

"That won't do. Seems like you two need to form that bond you once had. You are just lucky I was around."

"What bond? There was never any bond between us," Sakura became cold and indifferent once again.

"Even though it may have been a weak bond, there was one. You both need to learn to work together so…" she paused and thought for a while. A cruel smile formed in her lips, signifying she had the perfect idea. "…So you will both have to live together until you get along."

**

* * *

Man, I got carried away. That's it for now. PLEASE review and I'll try to update by Sunday.** **Then you will all know what really happened to Sakura while she was in the Village Hidden Among the Stones.**

**Please tell me what you think about the story.**

**Question: ****Should Sasuke and Sakura have to live together?**

**A) Yes**

**B) No**

**C) I couldn't care less**

**D) Other explain. **

**E) Do I have to answer?**


	22. One Month Sentence: Stuck With You

**I decided to post this chapter earlier than planned. I was able to finish it. Yay!**

**Anyways, thanks for those who reviewed. I specially want to thank ****Sakura4eva**** for the AWSOME idea!**

**Disclaimer: Do I have to repeat myself?**

**HOPE YOU ENJOY!**

**------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

_Thoughts_

Sakura talking to inner

**Flashback**

**-----****-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**One Month Sentence: Stuck With You**

**Recap:**

"What do you think you are doing?" the fifth Hokage demanded to know. "This is far beyond any friendly spar. You could have killed each other."

Sasuke realize what had happened; Tsunade had came to the rescue. He opened his eyes and saw Tsunade holding Sakura's wrist to stop her from attacking. When the attack had vanished, Tsunade let her go.

Sakura fell on her hands and knees, panting. _What was I thinking? I couldn't control myself. _"I'm sorry," she whispered as regret washed over her.

"That won't do. Seems like you two need to form that bond you once had. You are just lucky I was around."

"What bond? There was never any bond between us," Sakura became cold and indifferent once again.

"Even though it may have been a weak bond, there was one. You both need to learn to work together so…" she paused and thought for a while. A cruel smile formed in her lips, signifying she had the perfect idea. "…So you will both have to live together until you get along."

**End of Recap.**

**------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

"Impossible, the apartment I live in is too small," Sakura informed.

"I know, but you have your house where you use to live. I rented it to Rock Lee after I thought you were dead, but now that he knows you are alive, he insists that you take your house back. It's much bigger so there is no excuse."

"Wait what happened to my parents?" there was a hind of confusion in her voice.

"Your parents..." Tsunade hesitate in saying the next sentence. "You parents...they died during a mission."

Pure shock was written on her expressionless face. That shock soon left, as Sakura acted indifferent.

They're dead? Inner Sakura asked sadly.

I don't care. Sakura told herself.

That comment left Inner Sakura wide-eyed and unable to speak. What happened to you?

"There is no way I'm living under the same roof as him," Sakura pointed a finger at Sasuke and ignored her inner.

"I don't believe you have an option. You and Sasuke will have to live together. For how long that all depends on you both."

"No." Sakura opposed her mentor. "I swear on my life, that I will kill him if I have to live with him. I don't care if I get killed afterwards. I. will. Not. Live. With. Uchiha."

Tsunade was taken back by Sakura's words. She really seemed serious about it. _Maybe this isn't the best idea but what else can I do? Let's see they need to improve their teamwork so…I got it!_ "You two are going to drive me insane. I need you out of my hair for a while. You have a mission." The fifth Hokage searched her pocket until she found what she was looking for. She threw a small scroll at Sakura. "Deliver that to the Sand Village. You are not expected to come back until a month's end. While you are there, see if the Kazekage needs any help from us for anything. You leave tomorrow at daybreak."

"I'm still stuck with him?"

"Yes, but look in the bright side; you aren't living together. Before I forget, you are not to touch a single hair on each other's head. Understood?"

"Whatever."

"Hn," Sasuke said looking greatly uninterested.

"I'll leave you two alone. You know what to do, and if I find you disobeying me, you will be punished severely." Her voice was dead serious. "Bye! Try not to kill each other during the mission," she said in a more relaxed tone. Then she left with a poof.

"Great," Sakura muttered under her breath. She sat down on the ground with her legs stretched out. Green chakra began emitting from her hands, and she began to heal herself. When she stood up, she was hardly able to support herself because of the chakra loss. She looked over at Sasuke and noticed the injury in his arm she had created earlier, but didn't bother to heal it. "I'm out of here."

"Hn."

Sakura notice Sasuke following her. "Why the hell are you following me?"

"As much as I hate it, I'm still in probation so someone has to watch me."

"Let me get this straight; since I'm the only one here, _**I**_ have to watch you?"

"Hn."

"Is that a yes or a no?"

"Hn."

"Fine you can come with me, but just for today."

They walked in silence until Sasuke broke it. "Isn't you house that way?" He pointed to the other side of the village.

"No shit." Sakura replied leaving Sasuke puzzled. "But I need to get my things from the other apartment to take them to my house and buy food. I doubt Rock Lee left the house with it."

"Hn."

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"I wonder where Kakashi Sensei is. Maybe I finally lost him or he gave up and just went to buy another copy of his porn book," Naruto said to himself. He was on top of his apartment's roof, looking side to side trying to spot Kakashi. "Maybe he went back to the training grounds with Sasuke and Sakura." He jumped down and began walking toward the training fields. Suddenly, Kakashi appeared behind him and tapped him on the shoulder. Naruto turned around. "Hi, Sensei," he smiled sheepishly.

"Naruto give me back my book or I will make sure you never taste ramen ever again," Kakashi threatened while extending his hand toward Naruto so he could place the book back in its owner's hand.

"Ah!" Naruto didn't even have to think twice before giving the book back to him.

"That's better," he smiled. "Let's go back. I'm sure Sasuke and Sakura are getting tired of waiting on us." They were both oblivious to what had been recently going on between the two. Both shinobi walked back to the bridge to find it abandoned. _Where could they have gone?_ Kakashi wondered.

"Huh? Where they go?" Naruto asked while looking around. "They probably decided to go train with out us."

Kakashi froze in place. _They are probably trying to kill each other right this second. _He ran toward the closest training field.

"Hey, wait up Kakashi Sensei," Naruto shouted from behind but was not waited on.

Kakashi stood still in utter shock at the way the field looked. Everything was turned into rubble by two fighting opponents. _Could it have been them? _Kakashi wondered.

"Where have you been?" Tsunade asked from behind him. "Do you realize that two of your students could have died today if it wasn't for me?"

"So… it was them who did this," Kakashi said and turned around to look at the face of the angered Hokage.

"You are just lucky that nothing too serious happened," Tsunade calmed down some. "Don't let it happen again. That was too much of a close call. If you can't keep and eye on your students, I will be obligated to take that perverted book of yours away from you."

Kakashi's jaw dropped. _NO! _He quickly smiled. "Don't worry Lady Hokage, that won't happen again."

"Good." She walked off in the direction of the Hokage tower.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Great, I'm alone," Naruto said to himself. After looking around, he had finally given up on looking for everyone. "I need someone's attention," he cried anime style. He looked up at the sky. _I wonder where everyone went. I know! Maybe they are throwing a surprise party for me. That's why they left me alone. I just hope they have plenty of ramen. _He brightened up at the thought. He began wondering when Kakashi, Sasuke, and Sakura would come and get him.

A while later, he decided to go look for them himself, but he was stopped by the clinging and clanging of kunai and shurinken being thrown around. He decided to go check what was going on.

Hinata was standing in the middle of the field practicing some sort of jutsu. "Hey, Hinata!" Naruto's boisterous voice rang through the whole training field.

"Na…Naruto," was the only thing the shy girl could say in a low voice.

"Didn't Sakura and Sasuke invite you to the party?" Seeing the puzzled look she gave him, he concluded that there had been no party. He had just been left alone. "Never mind. So what are you doing?"

"**I don't want you seeing that boy again. He looks like a bad influence," Hiashi ordered.**

Instead of answering she said, "I have to go Naruto." She began gathering all of her weapons.

"Huh? Why?" Naruto's goofy grin turned into a frown.

"I…I…" _I'm being no better that all the people who ignored him when we were young, but I can't stay or else Father will be furious. _"Well, I have something to do."

"Oh…" Naruto stayed quiet, saddened by his lonesomeness. The one person who he thought would always be there, if he ever needed someone, was leaving him. Like when he was young, he faked a smile and acted happy. "Ok!"

Hinata saw how he reacted. She felt horrible by what she was doing. _I know I'm disobeying Father, but…_ She gathered all of her courage to say the next sentence. "I just realized I still have plenty of time left so I can stay for a while." She looked around as if expecting her father to come and scold her. _I just hope Father doesn't find out._

As soon as Hinata had said that one sentence, Naruto truly brightened up and showed one of his famous fox grins. They both sat down in the ground and began talking about past missions, future goals (Naruto's was, of course, to become hokage), daily activities, how much everyone had changed while he was gone, and each of Rookie Nine's plus Team Gai's ranks.

Naruto began to get hungry so he decided to ask Hinata if she wanted to go get some ramen with him. Afraid that her Father would see them together, she politely declined the offer. She was already taking a huge risk.

They both continued talking. Hinata told Naruto how ever since the Chunnin Exams, Neji and her had became closer, in a family kind of way. All thanks to him. But, of course, sooner of later they had to be interrupted by someone.

"Hinata! I've been looking for you." Hinata and Naruto's happy moment came to an end as Neji came up behind them.

Hinata froze in place. She was afraid that Neji would tell her father. She felt like crying at the moment. _Can't I ever be happy? Why can't Father ever give me my own freedom?_

"Hey! Neji!" Naruto screamed rather too loudly not knowing what was going on. "I heard from Hinata you've become an AMBU. That's really cool. You probably know I'm still a Genin, but that doesn't mean you can beat me! Maybe one day we could spar together to see how you rank against me."

Neji ignored most of Naruto's speech. He was too busy looking at his immobilized, half-scared to death cousin. "Naruto we have to go. Let's go Hinata."

Hinata stood up slowly. She didn't want to go home fearing the consequences. As soon as they were a fair distance away from Naruto, Hinata spoke. "We weren't doing anything bad."

"I know. I do not understand my uncle's reasoning for why he will not let you see each other. Naruto is a nice kid, dense but nice. He is the one who change the way I looked at life during the Chunin Exams."

"Please don't tell Father," she begged him with pleading eyes.

"I won't," Neji was hardly able to finish talking because he was being crushed by a hug from Hinata.

"Thank you!" she told him while smiling brightly at him.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Although it was her house she had just entered, Sakura examined it as if it were unfamiliar territory. She entered, followed by Sasuke, and dropped the grocery bags and her belongings on the ground. Sasuke did the same. Sakura stretched her arms, which had become numb from carrying the bags. Then she took hold of the groceries and put them all in the kitchen. She went back to get the bag with her belongings and opened it.

Meanwhile, Sasuke had begun to examine the house from top to bottom. The couch seemed inviting so he decided to take a seat and try to relax a bit.

When he became distracted, Sakura sat next to him and began to disinfect the wound she had created. By the way Sasuke grimaced, she could tell the injury had caused him a lot of pain.

"You finally decided to do something about it?" Sasuke asked while trying not to show the pain he was going through.

"I'm not a heartless monster," she replied coldly.

"Why not just heal it?"

"There's no fun in that. I wouldn't get the chance to see the Great Uchiha in pain," she ridiculed him.

Sasuke moved his arm away from her. "I can do it myself. You are probably using poison to kill me."

"Don't move and let me do it. I'm a Medic Nin.; I know how to do this. Don't worry I'm not going to kill you. Why waste my time in doing so?" Sasuke allowed her to continue what she had begun. Sakura became fully concentrated with the task at hand. After disinfecting it, she wrapped bandages around his arm. "There, all finished." A small smile of accomplishment crossed her lips, but soon vanished.

Sakura stood up and walked to the kitchen without a word. Minutes later, she called him to eat.

Sasuke sat down in one of the chairs but wouldn't touch the food. Instead, he examined it intently like it was poisoned. He pushed the plate aside.

"Don't worry it's not poisoned," Sakura said in monotone as she began eating.

"Hn." After his stomach urged him to, he decided to eat.

Dinner went in silence. Neither shinobi said a word. After eating Sakura had left to wash the dirty dishes. Sasuke had gone back to the living room and sat there.

Soon night arrived and Sakura, who had been in her room, came out. "I'm glad you like that sofa because that's where you are sleeping."

"Would it kill you to let me use a bed?" Sasuke asked her in showing indifference.

"Yes."

"Hn."

"The rooms in this house are for guests. You, Uchiha, are not my guest."

"Hn."

"Don't enjoy your stay," Sakura said in a mocking voice while she walked to her room.

"Wait…" Sasuke stopped her.

"Don't tell me you're scared of the dark or did you forget your teddy bear," Sakura said irritated.

"I want to ask you something. When we were fighting, if the hokage had not come, would you have killed me?" He seemed indifferent to what the answer would be but inside he needed to know.

"Yes. Unlike you, I actually destroyed all bonds with everyone," Sakura answered coldly and walked back into her room, shutting the door behind her.

Dude, even I think that's going a little too far, Inner Sakura said.

What did you want me to say? 'I didn't want to kill you. I just couldn't control myself.' Yeah, then he would truly think we're pathetic. Sakura told her inner.

But you didn't have to sound like you actually meant it.

Whatever, what's done is done. Leave me alone. I have a mission tomorrow so I need to rest and you aren't helping.

Fine, just stop acting like such a jerk-ass. I can't believe that you don't even care that our parents are dead.

Whatever.

The next day, Sasuke and Sakura walked to the village's gates in silence (of course). They didn't expect to see Tsunade waiting for them.

"I forgot to give this to you." Tsunade handed a small, white envelope to Sakura. "You are not to look at its contents. Just give it to the Kazekage."

"Where are Kakashi and Naruto? Shouldn't they be here already?" Sakura asked Tsunade.

"Maybe I didn't make myself clear. You two are the only ones going."

"What?" But before Sakura could say anything else, Tsunade had already disappeared into a cloud of gray smoke.

Alright! One month alone with Sasuke! Inner Sakura shouted with glee.

Shut up. By the deadly aura she was giving off, anyone could see she was not a happy camper. It was too late to argue because they had agreed to the mission, unknowing the full details.

They both stood under the gates, ready for their departure. So off they went toward the Sand Village for a new adventure that awaited them.

**---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**Man! And I thought the other chapter was long. Now I really got carried away. This chapter was not supposed to be THIS LONG. Oh well, more for you to enjoy.**

**If anyone out there, I mean anyone, has any idea of what could happen during the mission please tell me. Suggestions are welcomed. If you can't think of anything choose from one of the choices below.**

**Soon you will all know what happened to Sakura. Soon very soon. Muahahahaha. **

**Please Review!**

**What should happen during the mission?**

**A) It was a fake mission. Now they will have to lay back and relax in the Sand Village.**

**B) Leave the scroll and envelope, ditch the Sand Village, and go the Stone Village or somewhere else.**

**C) Something dangerous (Ideas are welcomed.)**

**D) Other. Explain**

**E) Do I have to answer? **

**F) All of the above. (They leave the scroll and envelope, but turns out it was pointless because there was nothing insede them; it was just so they could relax in Suna. They decide to go to the Stone Village and something dangerous happens. Wait…did I have to answer?) : )**

**Don't forget to REVIEW! I'll try to update as soon as I can!**


	23. Mission: Finished or Not?

**Umm…Hi…sorry for not updating…but I finally did! Ahh don't hurt me. (Runs off)**

**Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto, nothing would be accomplished with my slow updating.**

**Sorry for any spelling or grammar mistakes. I was trying to type this really fast. (which always turns out bad)**

_**ENJOY!**_

* * *

Thoughts

**Flashback **

_**Contents of Envelope and/or scroll**_

* * *

Recap:

The next day, Sasuke and Sakura walked to the village's gates in silence (of course). They didn't expect to see Tsunade waiting for them.

"I forgot to give this to you." Tsunade handed a small, white envelope to Sakura. "You are not to look at its contents. Just give it to the Kazekage."

"Where are Kakashi and Naruto? Shouldn't they be here already?" Sakura asked Tsunade.

"Maybe I didn't make myself clear. You two are the only ones going."

"What?" But before Sakura could say anything else, Tsunade had already disappeared into a cloud of gray smoke.

Alright! One month alone with Sasuke! Inner Sakura shouted with glee.

Shut up. By the deadly aura she was giving off, anyone could see she was not a happy camper. It was too late to argue because they had agreed to the mission, unknowing the full details.

They both stood under the gates, ready for their departure. So off they went toward the Sand Village.

**End of Recap.**

* * *

"WHAT??" Naruto's voice echoed through the entire village.

"Naruto there is no need to yell. Lady Tsunade is right in front of us and can hear you perfectly fine," Kakashi tried to get Naruto to calm down.

"You brat, you heard me correctly. Sasuke and Sakura are away on a mission…"

"How dare you?!" Naruto pointed an accusing finger at the Hokage. "Are you trying to split us up? We are supposed to be TEAM Seven not Partners Seven or anything else. Why couldn't you send Kakashi Sensei and me too?"

"For once Naruto is correct; we are a team," Kakashi agreed being the one who always emphasizes the importance of teams. "Besides, with the friction between the two, don't you think they would try to kill each other?"

"I gave them reasons not to, so don't argue with me," anger becoming evident in her voice.

"But I wanted to go with them too," Naruto cried anime style. "This isn't fair."

Naruto act your age. Tell you what; I'll give you and Kakashi an A-ranked mission…"

"I don't want an A-ranked mission, I wanted to go with Sasuke and Sakura," he rudely interrupted.

"Naruto, this is better…"

"How is it better?" He slammed his fist on the Hokage's desk.

"Let me explain…"

"NO. Let me go after them!"

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes."

"NO!"

"YES!"

"You're as stubborn as a mule."

"Well look who's talking."

"Let me…"

"I'm not listening…" Naruto said while covering his ears with his hands.

Tsunade was already out of patience. She grabbed him by the collar and punched him on the cheek so he would listen. "Listen to me. Let me explain the mission and if you don't want to go, I'll be nice enough to give you the opportunity to choose: the mission or going after Sasuke and Sakura."

"Fine, but I'm still going after them. You shouldn't even waste your breath on explaining," Naruto said while rubbing his sore cheek.

"Okay, this mission is A-ranked, as a said before. You are to go to the Village Hidden Among the Stones to find out why or how Sakura became so emotionless. Then try to see if that can be reversed to return her to her old self."

"If I may ask, why is this mission A-ranked? It doesn't sound very difficult," Kakashi interrupted.

"It is. All of this time Jiraiya has been trying to find out, but he hasn't gotten to any conclusion. It seems that everything they do and their history is secluded to anyone outside the village. They also seem to have many ninja on patrol where they keep any records."

"I see."

"So Naruto what do you say?" Tsunade turned to face Naruto.

_I really want to help Sakura. She's like a little sister. I let her down once before I will not do it again. I shouldn't even be thinking about it. _"I'll go on the mission," he answered full of determination.

"Good. If anyone can do it is you two. Naruto, Kakashi you leave in an hour. Prepare anything you need and head for the gates."

"Right," both said.

"You are dismissed."

Kakashi poofed into smoke. Naruto headed for the door. As he reached the door knob he heard Tsunade mumble something.

"Please Naruto, I'm counting on you."

Naruto turned around to face the Hokage, flashed a smile, and gave her the thumbs up. "I'll do my best," he responded.

Naruto headed strait for his house. He began packing food and clothes. He took a quick glance at the old Team Seven photo and examined it. _Sakura looks so happy unlike now. I haven't even seen her smile ever since I came back. Sakura what could have happened to you?_

One Hour Later

When Naruto arrived at the gates, he was surprised to see Kakashi already waiting for him. By the look he had on his face, anyone could tell that he was determined to know what happened to the team's Cherry Blossom. Both shinobi were taking this matter seriously.

"Shall we?"

"Let's go," Naruto responded.

* * *

Two of the three days of traveling had passed. The two traveling shinobi had not said a single word to each other. The only way something would be said was if it was something related to the mission. The friction between the two had not departed.

One more hour or so and both Sasuke and Sakura would be able to get the scroll and envelope to the Kazekage. Unfortunately for them, a sand storm was approaching in their direction. Soon they would have to find shelter.

The sand storm began to blow violently. They spotted a nearby cave and decided to stay there until they could continue.

"Looks like someone has been here already; there's firewood," Sakura examined. "Light it on, Uchiha. Night is approaching and we need some kind of light source."

"Hn. Don't tell me what to do." Sasuke said. He walked over to the wood and did some hand signs. A moment later, he breathed out fire and lit the wood.

"I was wondering…" Sakura began. "…why'd you kill Orochimaru?" Sakura asked while sitting near the fire and looking at it intently.

"Hn. I'm not obliged to answer…"

"You're impossible."

"…but I will. I had surpassed him so there was no need for letting him take over my body. Besides, he was pathetic."

"Why'd you return to the Leaf Village, though? You are, I mean, were a criminal there."

"Hn. I had my reasons."

"I bet it wasn't' because you missed the team."

"Hn."

Sakura stood up and began walking deeper into the cave. "I'm calling a day."

Sasuke watched her retreating back, as he, himself, decided to get some rest. **He tried to get a side-view of her face for any sign of defeat. Instead, he saw something totally different. **_**It can't be**_**!**

--

"**I want to ask you something. When we were fighting, if the Hokage had not come, would you have killed me?" He seemed indifferent to what the answer would be but inside he needed to know.**

"**Yes. Unlike you, I actually destroyed all bonds with everyone," Sakura answered coldly and walked back into her room, shutting the door behind her.**

"Hm…" Sasuke stood up and walked toward the direction in which Sakura had gone. _Could it be? Did I see wrong? That could really explain the way she is acting. _When Sakura came into view, he tried to hide his chakra so he wouldn't wake her up. Slowly and quietly he made his way to the sleeping kunoichi. He loomed over her body and examined her.

Suddenly, her body poofed into smoke and a kunai was at his throat. Its owner was Sakura. "What do you think you are doing, Uchiha?"

"Hn."

"You should know that a good shinobi never drops his or her guard even while sleeping. Are you trying to kill me in my sleep? Maybe I should kill you," she threatened in a venomous voice while moving the kunai closer to his neck.

The Uchiha survivor merely stayed quiet. How could he explain his suspicions to her? She'd probably deny it even if it was true. (**Okay you are probably wondering what he's doing but it will be clear in a few chapters…hopefully. I just like building suspense. Anyway I'll stop talking so you can keep reading.)**

Sakura lowered the kunai and put it away. "I'd kill you, but… I have my reasons not to…"

"Hn." Sasuke walked back to the entrance of the cave.

Sasuke awoke early in the morning ready to reach the Sand Village and find a bed to sleep in instead of the cold hard, ground.

"You are finally up?" Sakura's voice came from outside the cave. Apparently the sand storm had subsided. "We'll leave as soon as you are ready."

"Hn. Let's go," he said as he walked out.

* * *

"Lord Kazekage, we've heard that two shinobi from the leaf are making their way here."

"Send them in as soon as they arrive," the Kazekage ordered.

"Yes."

* * *

Soon both Sasuke and Sakura arrived at their destination. They began making their way to the Kazekage's office when a sand ninja appeared in front of them.

"Lord Kazekage is expecting you both. I shall lead you to him," he said.

They followed him and soon they were knocking at the door.

"Enter," a female voice said. Both shinobi complied and entered one after the other, while familiarizing themselves with their surroundings.

"Sakura!"

"Hm." She looked up to notice Temari running up to her ready to hug her. "Temari …I …can't…breathe…" she choked out.

"Ooops! Sorry, but we all thought you were dead! What happened?" Temari asked.

"I…"

"Well look who it is. If it isn't the Leaf Village's own traitor Sasuke Uchiha," Kankuro interrupted.

"Hn."

"To what do we owe this pleasure?"

"We're on a mission," Sakura replied shortly. "Tsunade asked us to deliver this to Gaara."

"She said the Kazekage not Gaara," Sasuke corrected.

"Idiot, Gaara is the Kazekage," Sakura informed him.

"Hn."

"Where is he anyway?"

"He went out to get some fresh air. I'll go get him," Kankuro volunteered and disappeared. Moments later, he reappeared with Gaara by his side.

"Gaara, we were ordered to deliver this to you." Sakura pulled out the scroll and envelope out of her backpack. She walked over to him and handed them to him.

Gaara walked over to his desk and sat down. He promptly opened the scroll first. Curious, Temari and Kankuro walked to his side and took a look at the contents. All three shinobi sweat dropped. (**I was going to end it here but I decided to continue.)**

_**:) (Yes people it's a smiley face. It's in the scroll. Gees I know it looks bad but come on.)**_

Gaara leaned over to his older sister. "Temari is this some kind of joke which I don't know about?" Gaara whispered to his older sister.

"Not that I know," she replied quietly. "Open the envelope. Maybe it explains the symbols."

Gaara quickly opened it and read it once…twice… three times but what he read still puzzled him.

* * *

"Naruto, I think we have successfully managed to…get…lost," Kakashi said.

"It's this way!" Naruto yelled.

"There's no way I'm following you. It's your fault we are in this predicament. You and your shortcuts." _Note to self; never listen to Naruto when on a mission._

"Gees Kakashi Sensei I was only trying to be helpful!"

Both continued walking through the tick forest trying to find a way out. Finally Naruto grew restless. "Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu!" One hundred Naruto's appeared. "Alright me(s), find a way out of here!" Hours passed and finally all Naruto's returned. "So did any of you find a way?"

"No," all Naruto's answered.

"Kakashi did some hand signs and summoned his ninja dogs. "Let me do this Naruto." He directed his attention to his dogs. "Alright I want you to spread out and find a way out of here." All ninja dogs scattered immediately.

"Kakashi," Pakun barked an hour later. "I've found a way."

"GREAT! Let's get out of here!" Naruto yelled.

As soon as they were out Kakashi spoke. "Remind me to never follow your shortcuts. We've lost a whole day already. If nothing interrupts us, we should be at the Village Hidden Among the Stones by the end of tomorrow."

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Gaara maybe this is asking too much of you. What am I saying? Of course this this is too much to ask, but I'm asking you for help. What kind of help? No, not money, ninja, or anything else you may be thinking. I just want you to keep both Sasuke and Sakura busy for some time. It has been a real pain to watch these two. I don't care how but keep them busy for at least one month while Naruto and Kakashi are out investigating something Sakura should not know.

_**PS. You may be wondering what the problem is, but trust me you will find out soon.**_

"Sasuke, Sakura you must be tired. I'll arrange so you can go rest. I'll call you to my office tomorrow to talk about the um…second part of your mission," Gaara told them.

"NOT in the same room," both Sasuke and Sakura immediately said.

"Kankuro, show our guests to their rooms," Gaara ordered.

"Taking orders from my little brother, how low can I go?" Kankuro complained.

All three left leaving Gaara and Temari behind. "What are we supposed to do?" Temari panicked. "What's wrong anyway?"

"You didn't notice? Sakura seemed different somehow. Not once did I see her smile like before."

"Now that you mention it, I did see how she looked as stoic as Sasuke? So anyway what are we going to do?"

"We could send them on a mission."

"You're the Kazekage. It's your choice," Temari said as she left.

The next morning Sasuke and Sakura were at Gaara's office ready to hear the 'second part' of the mission.

"The second part of the mission is to go to the Stone Village and … give him the scroll." Gaara informed them. **(Just so you know, Gaara doesn't know Sakura used to live there.)**

Sakura grabbed the scroll. "Is there any way I can go alone?"

"No you will go together."

"Fine let's go Uchiha."

Both exited the Kazekage's office and once again began their journey. This time to the Stone Village.

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Okay so that's it for now. I tried to make this chapter long to make it up for not updating in so long. Anyway PLEASE REVIEW.

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**THANKS I'll try to update soon.**


	24. In the Land of Stones

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It's my birthday. Weeeeee…. (Yep… I can be retarded sometimes, but it is my birthday...okay it was yesterday not today, but it's close enough.)

**It's really interesting how in the beggining this was supposed to be only fifteen chapters long and now it's way pass that. Anyway, here's the next chapter. Hope you like it. **

**Disclaimer: lalalalalalalalalalalalalalalal…what?**

**ENJOY : )**

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Thoughts

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Recap:

The next morning Sasuke and Sakura were at Gaara's office ready to hear the 'second part' of the mission.

"The second part of the mission is to go to the Stone Village and … give him the scroll." Gaara informed them. **(Just so you know, Gaara doesn't know Sakura used to live there.)**

Sakura grabbed the scroll. "Is there any way I can go alone?"

"No you will go together."

"Fine let's go Uchiha."

Both exited the Kazekage's office and once again began their journey. This time to the Stone Village.

**End of Recap.**

* * *

"Gaara?" Temari turned to face the departing shinobi through the window. Seeing them made her wonder something.

"Hm?"

"Don't you think the Tsuchikage will be angered by a scroll with a smiley face? Like we are playing some sort of game?"

"…" _Maybe that wasn't the best idea. Maybe I should have just stalled them and told them to do something different. Too late now._

* * *

Kakashi and Naruto slowly and cautiously made their way through the mysterious village. Both walked while guarding themselves from any unwanted attacks. Both were covered in black robes so not to be identified. The day had become increasingly dark as night approached.

"Naruto, remember to try to not attract any attention to us," Kakashi whispered while keeping an eye the young boy beside him.

"Yeah, yeah, Sensei. I got it," Naruto replied.

They walked through the abandoned streets of the Stone Village trying to find something that would give them a clue as to where to start.

"Maybe we should split up. We can cover more ground like that," Naruto stopped walking and suggested.

"No. We don't know our way around here. If we coughyoucough were to get lost, who knows what exactly would happen," Kakashi stopped to examine the surroundings. The little light that had been provided, had faded. Few lights were turned on inside the houses. Silence.

"Well then we, at least, need to find a place to sleep in." Naruto yawned, tired from the arduous day.

They found a small hotel and walked in. The dimly lit room had an old woman behind a counter. The woman forced a smile upon her pale lips. Naruto took the hood off his robe and began looking around.

"One room for two," Kakashi told the lady.

"Yes… I need to see your IDs first."

"IDs?" a puzzled look formed on Kakashi's face.

"Yes. To rent a room, you have to show your IDs. They help us ensure the safety of the village. With IDs we can see who are criminals or such. Anyone here in this village must have one even if only visiting."

"…"

"May I see them?"

"…"

The old woman realized that they did not posses one and she became frightened. "You must be fugitives from the law."

"No, that's not it…"

"But you have no IDs."

"Yes, but…"

"AAAHHHH!! Help!!"

Naruto, who had been distracted, turned around to look at the screaming lady. He walked over to Kakashi. "What's going on?"

Kakashi grabbed Naruto by the arm and dragged him out immediately. "We have to go!" He began running dragging the boy's body behind him.

"What happened?" Naruto asked as he began running himself instead of being dragged.

"I'll explain later. We have to get out of here," he told him and increased his running speed.

"I think they went that way," the old woman's voice was heard from afar. She was more than likely pointing in the direction in which both Naruto and Kakashi had left.

"LET'S GET THEM!" hundreds of voices shouted.

"YEAH!"

Naruto and Kakashi kept on running through the shadows the moon made not even bothering to look back at their pursuers. Suddenly, a door to a house swung open ahead of them. Two hands reached out and pulled them both inside. "Wha…"

The darkness of the house made it difficult to see who their captors were. "Naruto be prepared fight," Kakashi warned.

"Hold on," a familiar voice said. To attract less attention to the house only a small candle was lit and the faces to their rescuers were revealed.

"Shizune? Pervy Sage?" Naruto said loudly.

Jiraiya smacked Naruto on the head. "I told you not to call me that!"

"Shh! If they find out I saved you, they'll kill me. What do you think you are doing here?" Shizune whispered harshly.

"Well…we came to find out what had happened to Sakura while she was here." Kakashi explained.

"You too?" Jiraiya asked.

"Yes. Have you found anything Jiraiya?" Kakashi asked his idol.

He shook his head signaling a no. "Shizune and I have been working on that, but we have had no luck. So what happened that made you run?"

"We only wanted a room to sleep in, but some crazy, old hag began yelling," Naruto answered this time.

"Ah! The ID ordeal." Jiraiya seemed to fully understand the problem they had faced.

"You know about it Pervy Sage?"

"Yes. To tell you the truth, that happened to me too."

"About Sakura…" Shizune interrupted their current conversation. "I think it's best if you leave this village. You will create nothing but problems. Even I that have been here for quite some time have never seen the Tsuchikage in person…"

"NO WAY! I'm determined to find out what happened to her!" Naruto said.

"There's nothing for you to do…"

Knock. Knock. Knock. Someone rapidly knocked on the door. Everyone froze. "Hide," Shizune whispered. Immediately, Jiraiya jumped out the window and hid in a bush. Kakashi transformed himself into a lamp. Naruto… being Naruto, he only hid under the small table.

Shizune walked over to the door and opened it slowly making a squeaking noise. She took a quick glance to check if any incriminating evidence was in sight. "How may I help you?" Shizune asked.

"May I come in?" a voice said.

"Sure…" Shizune tried her best to smile so not to look suspicious.

"The ninja… where are they?"

"I don't know what you are talking about."

"You are from the Village Hidden in the Leaves and so were they. It's only natural that you helped them. How do I know where they are from you wonder?" She pointed to Naruto's feet which were only partially covered under the table. "He removed his hood and I saw his headband."

Poof! Kakashi turned back to normal. "Naruto come out." He ducked his head to look under the table. Naruto had his arms above his head. His eyes were shut tightly. "Naruto!" Slowly Naruto opened his eyes and came out. Kakashi tuned to look at the old lady from the hotel that had caused them so much trouble.

"You'll have to excuse my behavior from earlier. Lord Tsuchikage demands we do that. He threatens to kill anyone who disobeys. I'm already taking a huge risk by just coming here. The IDs were his idea. It's as he fears someone might come and ruin whatever he has up his sleeve. Please forgive me." She bowed.

"Maybe you can tell us about this Tsuchikage," Jiraiya said as he came back through the window.

"Not much is known. Only a few people have seen him. His assistant is one, but she's away now."

"His assistant? Could it be a young, pink-haired kunoichi?"

"Yes, how did you know?"

"She's a former Leaf shinobi." Kakashi answered this time. "Could you tell us what you know about her?"

"I don't know much. Only one day, she came to this village. She helped in the hospital, the previous Tsuchikage with his work, and other duties. She became the light of this village and soon she had decided to live here. Then Lord Tsuchikage unexpectedly died and a new one replaced him. One morning, the girl went to meet him. She wasn't seen the rest of the day. The next day, she was no longer the same. She was different. No longer caring or cheerful. She could care less about the sick and dieing in the hospital, only served the Tsuchikage. Her life became a daily routine of training or missions. She was indifferent to the rest of the world."

"So what you are mainly saying is that the Tsuchikage did something to her?"

"I don't know. That's what everyone in the village believes. Everyone admired her hard work and determination. After the change, everyone tried to bring her back, but she wouldn't let anyone get near her."

"I'll make him pay!" Naruto vowed and began walking toward the door.

Jiraiya grabbed him by the collar. "What do you think you are going to do? We don't even know where he is."

"I must be going. If anyone sees me here, the consequences could be dire," the old woman walked toward the door and exited.

"You should get some rest. We can look for clues tomorrow. Let's let this information sink in," Shizune suggested.

They all went to sleep wondering who the mysterious man could be. All but Naruto. Naruto slept thinking about ways he would make the person pay for doing whatever he did to Sakura.

* * *

"I'm home…" Sakura thought out loud. She closed her eyes and envisioned the village she called her home.

It was early in the morning and the sun was just begging to rise. Slowly the streets were being filled by bustling people. Sakura walked through trying to make her way to the Tsuchikage. She looked back and noticed Sasuke trailing behind her. "I'll go alone," she said in an unemotional voice and began walking again.

* * *

"Hey! Kakashi Sensei, isn't that Sakura and Sasuke?" Naruto asked and pointed at the two moving ninja.

"They are…"

"Hey Sakura! Sas…" Kakashi covered Naruto's mouth.

"Sh! There's something strange here. They are supposed to be on a mission not here."

"You are overanalyzing things Sensei. Grandma Tsunade probably lied to us and actually knew that we would find them here."

"Perhaps but let's keep a low profile for now."

* * *

Sakura walked swiftly toward the Tsuchikage's office. She was unaware of the presence behind her. The thoughts that were running through her head did not allow her to sense it.

Sasuke had decided to follow Sakura. He wanted to see what made the Tsuchikage so special. What training methods he had used to make Sakura go from a joyful, lively girl to an emotionless, cold kunoichi. Deep down, although he would not admit it, he missed the non-killing, happy, caring teammate. Deep down in their thoughts, neither Sasuke nor Sakura realized the other shinobi following.

Yep. Naruto and Kakashi had decided to follow. Though they kept their distance, they tried to be close enough to not lose sight of them.

Sakura entered an eerie tower; the Tsuchikage's office. The inside was dimly lit and too quiet. There was no sign of lively activity or work. She entered a room that was even darker than the rest of the tower. The large window was covered by dark, dirty drapes. A reeking smell came from behind a desk. A chair behind it turned slowly. A tall dark figure wearing the Tsuchikage's clothes stood up. He was all covered up, only his eyes were visible. Eyes full of venom, malice, revenge, and lustful for power. "Sakura…" he whispered.

Sasuke stood just outside the room, peaking through the slightly closed door. He couldn't make out the figure because of the lack of light. _I'll just have to listen carefully._

* * *

"This place is really creepy," Naruto whispered looking around really scared.

"Hm…This place looks like an office but there's no one here. Offices are usually busy and crowded with working people," Kakashi examined quietly and came to an abrupt stop.

Naruto bumped into him. "What…"

"Sh. Sasuke is outside listening to something. Sakura probably went in. Let's see what happens."

* * *

"Sakura… you shouldn't be here…yet," the mysterious man hissed.

"Yes…but I'm on a mission to deliver this scroll to you," Sakura explained to her teacher. She walked over to him and handed him the scroll.

The man slowly opened it. He was expecting a new powerful jutsu. He looked at the scroll and by the way he spoke, it became evident he was not amused by the contents. "IDIOT!" he yelled angrily and punched Sakura on the face to take out his anger.

Sakura fell on the floor and looked up confused.

"What the fuck is this supposed to be? Some sort of joke? What have I taught you?"

_I know that voice_, Sasuke thought from the outside of the room.

"Not only do you get tricked into doing some pointless mission, but you also bring him here," he said and threw a kunai directly at the door where Sasuke had been at. "It must be weakening. Going back to your old home wasn't a good idea. Right…Sasuke," the man said and turned sideways to where Sasuke was standing with his katana unsheathed, ready to strike.

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Dun, dun, dun, dun….. It ends with a cliff hanger. (I love making you suffer.) I tried to make it longer, but that's going to have to do it for now. I'll try to make the other chapters longer if I can. I just have a really busy life.

**Okay now for the question you've all been wondering… _Who is it?_ ****Anyone who answers correctly will…um…well I haven't thought of that part yet. No, you don't get answer choices. You have to guess the person yourself. ;)**

**Clue: this person has been mentioned before. Read the chapters carefully to have better chances at guessing right.**

**ALSO if any of you wonderful, intelligent, creative writers can write good fighting scenes and would like to write one for me, please PM me because as you have already seen mine suck. I just want the fight scene to be good.**

**PLEASE REVIEW.**

**REVIEW**

**Review**

**Thanks.**

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_Sorry for any spelling or grammar errors._

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	25. Let the Fight Begin

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Sorry for the late update. So here's the next chapter! It's pretty long.

**Before I forget, I want to thank Sakura4eva for helping me with this chapter. Thanks again. (How many times have I said it?) Remember how I told you I dreamed it, well my dream did come true. And it's AWSOME! **

**Oh and congratulations to all of those who guessed (I'm not telling you) right!**

**Also, I need a new summary for this story. I will most likely change it. Just a heads up.**

**Disclaimer: Not even in my dreams.**

**ENJOY!**

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**Recap:**

"What the is this supposed to be? Some sort of joke? What have I taught you?"

_'I know that voice,' _Sasuke thought from the outside of the room.

"Not only do you get tricked into doing some pointless mission, but you also bring him here." the man said, throwing a kunai directly at the door where Sasuke had been at. "It must be weakening. Going back to your old home wasn't a good idea. Right… Sasuke?" he smirked and turned sideways to where Sasuke was standing with his katana unsheathed, ready to strike.

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End of Recap.

* * *

"You!" Sasuke said venomously yet his face showed no emotion whatsoever.

"Ah! Sasuke, I see you went back to the pathetic Leaf Village... So, how do you like my new puppet?"

"How did you survive? I thought I killed you." he hissed.

"Funny story, you see. Kabuto, in his dieing moments, gave me his body. It may not be the most powerful vessel, but he is skilled with medical ninjutsu which allowed me to heal myself and live."

"Not for long," Sasuke muttered under his breath and charged directly at him. The man who had separated him from his teammates, not that he minded because he had gained what he lusted for while under his teachings; power.

Raising the katana in one hand, ready to strike, he came at him with the want to kill to deliver a mortal injury to the man before him. Before he could do so, however, a figure appeared right beside him, stopping his actions by grabbing his wrist. "Sakura!" He was slightly surprised to see her stopping him. After all, she had just saved the life of the man whom he thought she hated for taking him away. Unfortunately, her monstrous strength was overpowering him. "Let me finish this once and for all." he demanded as he struggled to get free from her grasp.

"Don't you see Sasuke? She's my puppet now. She follows my orders. You can't tell me that you haven't already noticed." Orochimaru smiled sadistically.

"That curse mark on her neck?" Sasuke glared at him intensely.

"Hehehe! So you have. How do you like my new experimentation? This kind of curse mark can put anyone under my control. It's much better for the person holding it, does not rebel just like you did. It wipes most of the person's memories, but this girl has strong ties to others which didn't get fully erased, though a good portion of them did. Being with those she holds the strongest bonds with must have weakened it because she's different than when she left. She was much more cold and emotionless."

"Why her? You had other followers in Sound so why her?"

"True, there were others, but you freed most of them. Besides, this girl is probably the next best thing. She did surpass my old teammate Tsunade, after all. Then, when I found out she had ties with you, I wanted to make you suffer for the agony you caused me."

"This time I'll make sure to kill you." Sasuke shook Sakura's hand off of his wrist and headed toward Orochimaru. This time he'd get him for sure.

Just then, Sakura punched the ground with some of her energy, creating a small crater, throwing Sasuke off balance with the impact. "If you want to get to Lord Orochimaru, you'll have to go through me," Sakura stated in a monotone voice. Her cold, piercing eyes showing no emotion whatsoever.

"You're not serious, are you?" He turned to face her. "This is the enemy."

"Lord Orochimaru is not the enemy. You, on the other hand, are." she said, then disappeared in a puff of smoke to appear once again in front of Sasuke, punching him straight in the stomach. "Even though I hate you, I have to thank you because you made me that much stronger."

As Sasuke was punched away, he dropped his katana on the ground close to Sakura. He crashed into the wall opposite of him.

Sakura bent down, picking the accidentally discarded weapon up. The katana was clean with no sign of anyone's blood on it, although many ninja had most likely suffered their painful, untimely death because of it. Sakura threw the katana at Orochimaru. "Here's your weapon Uchiha stole from you, Lord Orochimaru." she told him with a blank stare. She then directed her attention back towards the Uchiha prodigy. "That katana was going to get in my way of killing you. Good luck without it. As for me, I have my weapon right here." She raised one hand and pointed to it with the other. "All I need are my hands and chakra." With that, Sakura ran toward him.

Sasuke gained his composure with a slight sigh. "I didn't want to his, but if that's how you want it; fine." Obviously he was serious, as he sped toward her. Both their fists collided together, making a large impact around them. Because of Sakura's inhuman strength, Sasuke was pushed back a few feet, while Sakura only a few mere inches.

Orochimaru stood back watching the interesting scene before his eyes. He had already decided the winner would become his new vessel. Even with bearing the curse mark, Sakura was slowly being fueled by his evil chakra. Suddenly, his attention was torn from the battle as two more chakras beside the two in front of him were felt. _'More company, I see.'_ Orochimaru thought. _'No one will ruin my plans.' _Doing some hand signs, he summoned two, already dead ninja. After signaling them to destroy their intruders, to which they were off to do in a flash, he faced the fight once more.

* * *

Most of the building was shaking from the battle within. Nothing seemed safe inside anymore. All of the villagers had taken precautions to stay away, at least ten feet, from there. The building could collapse at any moment.

"K…Ka… Kakashi Sensei," Naruto stuttered while trying not to lose his balance in the unstable building. "Don't you think it would be a good idea if we got the heck out of here instead of being squashed when this place falls apart?"

"No. We need to find out what's going on. Someone must be fighting if the whole building is shaking like this." Kakashi then walked deeper into the dark halls.

"But… But…" Naruto tried to protest, yet finding no excuse to actually convince him to leave, he did the only thing he could possibly do: follow Kakashi.

Suddenly, Kakashi was thrown back from a strong blow nearby. Luckily, Naruto caught him before he could take any more damage.

Two, pale, stoic figures emerged from the darkness. "You shall go no further." they both said in unison.

"Z…z…zom… Zombies!" Naruto stuttered in fright. He turned toward the door, beginning to run for it. Kakashi stepped in his way to stop him, but Naruto just dashed pass him. Kakashi grabbed him by the collar with a sigh, successfully bringing the boy to a halt.

"Naruto, stay and fight. What kind of ninja will you be if you run away?" Kakashi lectured him trying to convince him to stay.

"That's easy Sensei! I'll be a living ninja not a dead one, because those guys look really strong and really scary." he retorted and struggled, trying to break free from his grasp.

"We shouldn't waste our time with that wimpy-looking kid, Rinji." one of the dead guys said.

Naruto froze. "What did you call me?!" He finally looked serious enough to fight, so Kakashi let him go.

"A wimpy-looking kid, right Senji…?" the other repeated with a yawn.

"O…okay. Now that I know, I'm out of here!" With that, the scared boy took off for the exit, but one of the guys, the one who had been called Rinji, blocked the exit.

"I think I'll just have some fun with you…" He smirked. Then, taking out a kunaii, Rinji **(what a horrible name, I know) **aimed it at Naruto. Naruto did a back flip and managed to move out of the way.

Kakashi and Senji **(another horrible name) **were both locked in a glaring contest and noticed when Naruto and Rinji began to fight. "Looks like it's me and you left." Senji said and charged toward Kakashi.

The silver haired jounin nodded, then pulled his headband up to reveal his sharingan. "Let's begin." he agreed.

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'The power both posses is incredible. Both would make perfect vessels for me. Too bad I only get to choose one.'

Orochimaru stood back from the two fighting ninjas, smirking. At this point, both Sasuke and Sakura were willing to kill each other.

Sakura ran toward Sasuke with chakra loaded fists. Sasuke's speed allowed him to move out of the way, making Sakura hit the wall. Her fist got stuck in the hole she had created and Sasuke immediately did hand signs, taking advantage of the situation, and yelled, "Fire Style; fire ball jutsu!" An enormous ball of fire erupted from his mouth and was aimed for Sakura.

As she managed to get her fist out of the wall, she turned around and saw the fire coming directly toward her. Quickly, Sakura did some hand signs. When the smoke cleared, she was still standing, untouched by the fire and unmoved.

"I must say, to be able to create a chakra shield in such a short amount of time requires precise chakra control." Sasuke complimented, then added, "You've always been good at that." He took out some shuriken, throwing them at her with perfect aim. Sakura dodged them all, only to find chakra strings attached to them. As a result, she got tied up against the wall.

Sasuke saw this as an opening and went in the opposite direction to try to recover his katana from Orochimaru. This would probably be one of the only openings he could possibly have, so he needed to make the most of it.

On the other side of the room, Sakura struggled to get free. She tried to reach her kunai pouch and pulled one out and slashed through the ropes.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu." Sasuke said quickly. One copy of himself appeared beside him. The copy activated the sharingan, making Sakura think that was the real Sasuke. She tried to kick him, but he just jumped out of the way. This happened repeatedly; Sakura would try to punch or kick, but the clone would move out of the way to avoid being hit and disappear into smoke. It was all just a distraction, though, for the real Sasuke to carry out his plan.

Sasuke was planning on retrieving his katana and finishing off his teacher, once and for all. Orochimaru was too busy watching the fight to notice the Uchiha behind him. Powering up for chidori, Sasuke darted straight to him. Sakura saw this and got in front of Orochimaru, arms stretched out, protecting him. It was too late when Sasuke realized what Sakura was doing, and he couldn't stop. The chidori hit Sakura right in the stomach. She coughed up blood. Her arms clutched her stomach, and she fell on the ground. Eyes wide open with fear of death and pain.

"Sakura…" Sasuke leaned down to examined the seriousness of the damage he had caused her. Death was on it's way for the young kunoichi. "You were a fool…"

Suddenly, he was kicked on the head. The body in front of him poofed into a different person. It was another person dieing.

"You didn't think I was that stupid, did you? I saw right through your clone and how you tried to distract me. You'll have to do better," Sakura stated, icily. She turned toward Orochimaru. "That little trick really came in handy, after all."

Orochimaru could only smirk at this. The second round of the fight would soon commence. This round would decide everything.

_

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_

'Easy… Slow… Careful…'

A ninja thought. He crept silently, unnoticed, as he jumped through the wide, open window behind Orochimaru. He walked carefully, so as not to make a sound. Sasuke and Sakura were too busy into their fight to notice this man and the ninja took a kunai and placing it on Orochimaru's neck. "This is the end for you, old buddy."

"Jiraiya?"

"You were too busy watching them fight, you didn't pay attention to anything else. That was your mistake." Jiraiya whispered, threatening to end his life.

"On the contrary, old friend, I've had my guard up all of this time." a sly voice came, only a few feet behind him. The figure Jiraiya was holding captive turned into small snakes that slithered away. Orochimaru stood leaving back against the wall, smirking. "Shall we put an end to this rivalry, old friend?" With those words said, snakes slithered from Orochimaru's sleeve and went straight for Jiraiya. Jiraiya quickly used his hair as a shield to cover himself before they could land a hit, thus starting a new battle.

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_

'I need to end this soon. Lord Orochimaru may need my help against the Toad Sage.'

Sasuke and Sakura had been fighting for some time now. Bruises and cuts adorned both of their bodies; blood poured out of the many cuts they both had; and both were sweating and panting endlessly. There still did not seem to be a clear, definite winner to their battle. Both were tired and low of chakra, but their egos and motives would not allow them to just quit.

Sakura threw a kunai at Sasuke which he dodged. Sasuke tried to throw kunai at her, but she turned into a lamp. _'Replacement jutsu!' _He looked around the room to find her.

"Any last words?" Sakura asked from behind him. She had what was left of her chakra all concentrated in her hand. Just one touch, and all of Sasuke's bones would shatter.

* * *

"Ninja style: Mud swamp jutsu! **(Sorry, I couldn't think of anything else.)**" Jiraiya yelled as he did the corresponding hand signs. Orochimaru became stuck in the mud.

"Ahh…" He tried struggling to get free but the more he struggled the more he sunk into the mud.

"It all ends here." Jiraiya warned. He formed the Rasengan in his hand and ran toward him.

* * *

"Multi Shadow clone jutsu!" Hundreds of Narutos appeared, filling up the whole room in which they were fighting in. "Let's get him!" one of the Naruto's yelled. They all charged toward Rinji in unison.

* * *

Just then, Jiraiya managed to land a direct hit on his once best friend. "NO!" Orochimaru screamed. His skin began shedding away, revealing the infamous, white snake. Jiraiya stood back staring in awe (and slight disgust) at what had become of his ex-teammate. The snake hissed in pain as its life began slipping away. It moved wildly, trying to do anything possible to survive, but there was nothing left to do. It thrashed around until it was out of energy and slowly calmed down to die.

"Good bye." Old memories of when they were friends flashed before Jiraiya's eyes. In the end, he didn't see Orochimaru as the monster he had became, he saw him as the young boy who was once his best friend.

* * *

Naruto was about to attack with his famous rasengan, when Rinji turned into dust. Since Orochimaru had summoned him and he was dead, both Rinji and Senji disappeared. Of course, the blonde wouldn't get that. "Wow! They must have really been afraid of me to leave like that!" Naruto cheered to Kakashi.

Kakashi walked slowly toward Naruto trying to examine the remains. "Naruto, let's go. We need to find out what's going on." Kakashi said. They both ran toward the room where everyone else was at. Soon, they would find the truth.

* * *

As Sakura was about to kill Sasuke, she suddenly dropped on her knees, clutching her head in obvious pain. The curse mark Orochimaru had implanted on her, was beginning to fade away in a painful process. Sakura shook her head violently trying to make the pain stop and go away. "Stop!" she screamed, trembling as sharp pains went through out her body. Finally, when the pain subsided, her body grew limp, her eyes dull, and she fainted from exhaustion.

"Sakura…"

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WOOO! It's finished. Not the story just the chapter. There's still a long way from the end.

Please Review! If you don't know what to say, answer the following questions.

Did you actually think Sakura died when Sasuke used the chidori?  
If you guessed correctly from last chapter, what made you think it was him? (Was it that obvious?)

Please review! or else...I will ... let ...umm... Orochimaru come back to life and hunt you down. Muahahahaha!


	26. The Fight For Dominance

**No, I'm not dead. I'm just really busy and I have to do a lot of things including work, and I kind of got lazy for a while. (Sorry for making you wait.) Hey! School's out (for me I don't know about you or if you even go to school) so I will try to update faster.**

**First of all, (yeah I know I should stop 'talking' and just let you read the chapter) I want to thank all of you great reviewers for all of the great reviews you have all sent. Please keep on reviewing. **

**Also… (Angry reviewers: "SHUT UP!") (Me: "Okay, just let me finish this.") I changed the first chapter. It doesn't change the plot. It's just in case you want to read it and review it (if you hadn't already). When I have spare time, I will be changing most of the chapters and adding a few things. Like I already said, it won't change anything.**

**Disclaimer: Pssht! In my dreams. (Really.)**

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Thoughts

'_Sakura talking to her inner'_

Sakura's Inner Talking

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Recap:

"Good bye." Old memories of when they were friends flashed before Jiraiya's eyes. In the end, he didn't see Orochimaru as the monster he had became, he saw him as the young boy who was once his best friend.

Naruto was about to attack with his famous rasengan, when Rinji turned into dust. Since Orochimaru had summoned him and he was dead, both Rinji and Senji disappeared. Of course, the blonde wouldn't get that. "Wow! They must have really been afraid of me to leave like that!" Naruto cheered to Kakashi.

Kakashi walked slowly toward Naruto trying to examine the remains. "Naruto, let's go. We need to find out what's going on." Kakashi said. They both ran toward the room where everyone else was at. Soon, they would find the truth.

As Sakura was about to kill Sasuke, she suddenly dropped on her knees, clutching her head in obvious pain. The curse mark Orochimaru had implanted on her was beginning to fade away in a painful process. Sakura shook her head violently trying to make the pain stop and go away. "Stop!" she screamed, trembling as sharp pains went through out her body. Finally, when the pain subsided, her body grew limp, her eyes dull, and she fainted from exhaustion.

"Sakura…"

**End of Recap.**

* * *

As soon as Sakura was about to collide with the ground, a pair of strong arms grabbed her by the waist to stop her from falling. Sasuke slowly ser her down on the ground to rest while he thought of what to do now. His most likely bet was to take her back to the village so Tsunade would check on her, but Jiraiya could have other plans.

He stood over her body examining her peaceful features in her sleep. The pain she had suffered that had been absolutely excruciating for her had finally subsided as she rested; totally knocked out and not stirring at all.

Jiraiya slowly made his way toward Sasuke to see how much damage had been inflicted on his part. He looked at the last Uchiha and said, "Pick her up. We need to take her back to Tsunade for examination. She will be interrogated for allying with Orochimaru as soon as she feels better."

As Jiraiya finished talking, Naruto burst inside the dimly lit room followed by Kakashi. "Sakura, Sasuke, what's going on?" the hyper boy shouted. Immediately, he saw Sakura knocked out and Sasuke beside her which made him misinterpret the situation. "What did you do to her this time, Sasuke?" His cerulean eyes flared up. Anger was evident in his once cheerful voice.

However, before a fight could erupt between the two, Jiraiya intervened. "Naruto; calm down. We will explain everything later. Right now, we need to leave this building before it collapses." Jiraiya intervened before a fight could erupt between the two. "Uchiha do as I said and let's get out of here."

Sasuke heisted in dong as he was told. _Why can't Naruto or Kakashi do it? I'm being bossed around and Uchihas do NOT get bossed around. They do the bossing,'_ he grumbled inwardly. Nevertheless, he complied because it was Sakura and not anyone else. He slowly kneeled down to carry her, but as soon as he was on his knees, one of Sakura's hands turned into a fist and punched Sasuke away. Immediately, she stood up and got away from everyone.

At first, everyone thought that Sakura's reaction had been because she didn't want Sasuke carrying her. Then, they thought she was just confused. Then, they saw the evil smirk she had plastered on her face, and they realized that there was something wrong- something more to this whole situation.

Sakura stood away from everyone, chuckling softly under breath and looking at everyone who had united. "Did you really think I was a goner? Did you think you had killed me old friend?" Sakura's mouth moved, but it wasn't her voice. It was Orochimaru's.

"You faked your death?" Jiraiya sighed, already getting into an aggressive stance. "I should have known you had something up your sleeve. So Orochimaru, how did you do it?"

"What's going on?" Naruto asked, completely confused. Kakashi the felt same. They had been too busy fighting Rinji and Senji to know anything. They were ignored as Orochimaru began to explain.

"You see, I knew Kabuto's body would not be strong enough to withstand and arduous fight. Right before you 'killed' me, I caught the girl distracted and took the opportunity to make myself at home in her body. That was why she screamed for me to stop. She tried to resist, but it was no use. Then all I did was fake I fainted for my plan to carry out and get you all distracted. This body is now mine!"

"You won't be in there for long." Jiraiya took out a kunai and ran toward Orochimaru to begin fighting once more. Sasuke unsheathed his katana and was ready to fight. They both stopped dead on his tracks.

Orochimaru **(Wait. Hold on a sec. Should I call him/her Sakura or Orochimaru? Well you will get the point…I hope) **lifted up a kunai and put it on his/Sakura's throat. "One more step and the girl dies right here and now."

"You'll kill yourself in the process. Why don't you fight?" Jiraiya asked, obviously angered by Orochimaru's cowardly tactics.

"I'm clearly outnumbered. It wouldn't be fair, now would it?" He put the cold, sharp blade closer to Sakura's neck. "Put the weapons down if you value her life," he threatened, hoping his bluff would take him far enough.

Jiraiya , who had been holding a kunai himself, dropped it on the ground. Sasuke, on the other hand, hesitated in dropping his blade. Instead, he clutched it with both hands.

Orochimaru put the kunai closer making a small cut on her neck, letting a small amount of blood pour down her neck. "Do you really want her to die?" he asked Sasuke.

Although Sasuke didn't want to drop his katana, he also didn't want Sakura to die because of him. Her death would rest on his shoulders and not to mention everyone would blame him for it. Finally, he dropped the katana, hitting the ground with a cling.

"Perfect. Now stay still." He ordered while stepping backward making his way to the exit. The kunai was still on Sakura's neck. '_This is too easy_,' he smirked inwardly.

"He's getting away," Naruto growled impatiently. He couldn't believe he couldn't do anything to help Sakura. He felt so helpless… so useless.

"Don't you think we can see that?" Jiraiya whispered back harshly.

"SAKURA!" Naruto screamed. Everyone turned to face his like he was crazy. They tried to figure out what he was up to. "SAKURA!" He screamed again. "I know you can hear me in there…"

"You fool!" Orochimaru interrupted. "Are you that clueless? It's like she's dead. She no longer exists. It's just me in here." He turned to Jiraiya. "I warned you. You 'student' has no true potential unlike Sasuke. He's crazy!"

"Sakura, I know you can hear me. Fight him out of you. That's your body not his. Orochimaru is using you like a toy. Don't let him do this to you. We're supposed to hate him for taking Sasuke away from us. SAKURA!" Tears began to roll down his cheeks as he became aware of the fact that Orochimaru might actually be correct. His words weren't having any effect on the person who he thought of as his sister.

"Hehehe!" Orochimaru began to laugh manically. "Do you really think that's going to help?"

"She's really gone, isn't she…? …Sakura! HOLD HIM BACK! DON'T GIVE IN!" he screamed as loud as he could while more and more tears streamed down his tanned cheeks. Maybe one of his screams would be heard by her…maybe ….maybe not.

**

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Inside Sakura's body (yeah, I know it sounds kind of crazy)

"Fight him!" A voice repeated over and over again. She could hear the voice, but she wasn't sure as to whom it belonged to. '_I'll just ignore that voice and go along with whatever happens. I won't matter to anyone. I'll just stay here.'_

"Sakura fight him, please!"

"That voice! I know that voice. It's Naruto…You loudmouth be quiet." She whispered aware of the fact Naruto would not hear her.

So you're just going to give up? Sakura's inner asked.

'_Leave me alone. I'm tired…of everything,' _Sakura replied, giving a lazy sigh.

You are letting everyone down. Naruto is pleading us to fight Orochimaru instead of letting him take over OUR body. When did you become such a wimp? 

'_I'm not a wimp. I'm just tired.'_

Is that what you want to call it? You aren't doing anything and you're tired? Are you not going to do anything? The gay freak, Orochimaru, is inside our body and you aren't doing anything.

'_I can't. When he entered our body, he did something to me so I wouldn't be able to control our body anymore. It's like I'm paralyzed.' _Sakura tried to move, but her efforts were useless.

You have to do something!

'_What can I do?'_

I don't know.

'_Yeah, let's go with that plan- that will definitely get us really far.' _Sakura's voice practically dripped sarcasm.

Inner Sakura stopped talking to think of something. I got it! Since I'm a part of you, I should also have medical jutsu abilities. If you are paralyzed, I should be able to set you free. In a matter of seconds, Inner Sakura was able to free Sakura. Soon, she would be able to move her body. Somehow, they would both kick Orochimaru out.

'_What do we do now?' _Sakura asked her inner.

Simple, teamwork. Sakura gave her inner a puzzled look. You distract him. Then leave everything to me. She explained and smiled wickedly.

**

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**

Back outside

"SAKURA!" Naruto screamed again still hoping that he'd be able to get through to her this time. More tears rolled down his already wet face. He was losing his sister and there was nothing he or anyone else could do about it. He fell on his knees and punched the ground out of frustration.

Orochimaru, who was nearly out of the door, couldn't help but grin at the site of everyone's helplessness. Suddenly, the kunai Orochimaru was holding on Sakura's neck fell to the floor.

Jiraiya, Kakashi, Naruto, and Sasuke saw that. They were ready to go attack without thinking about anything else, but Orochimaru quickly picked it up, and once again put it some distance away from Sakura's neck. Everyone sweat dropped anime style. _What happened? Did the kunai slip from his hand? Butterfingers… _everyone thought at the same time.

"What's going on?" Orochimaru asked quietly. He couldn't understand how the kunai had fallen from his tight grip.

"Is he talking to himself?" Kakashi asked Jiraiya.

"I don't know. It could be he's having trouble controlling Sakura's body because of her power," Jiraiya suggested.

The kunai was involuntarily drawn closer to Sakura's neck. "What's going on?" Orochimaru screamed.

"Did you really think you could take my body that easily?" Sakura's voice grunted.

"NO! You shouldn't have control of your body. It's mine!" Orochimaru tried to get the kunai away form Sakura's neck. Sakura, on the other hand, struggled to close the gap between the two. "Are you crazy? You'll kill us."

Naruto heard Sakura's voice and quickly brightened up. "She's alive!" Naruto stood up from the ground and wiped the tears from his face. A small smile began to spread across it. "Sakura you can do it. I know you can beat him." He cheered.

"Let me do us the favor of ending both of our lives right here and now." Sakura threatened bringing the kunai closer. "I have nothing to live for and you have no good reason for living." She continued on struggling to push the kunai closer.

Orochimaru resisted the attempt. "You are insane…"

"Insane, maybe, but I'd rather die that let you dwell inside me." She lifted her head her head to give the kunai room to slice through **(that sounds plain horrible)**.

"Sakura…" Naruto was speechless from what he heard and what he was seeing. She was willing to kill herself for the sake of others. Yet, he didn't want her to die.

Everyone watched in shock at what Sakura was planning on doing. There seemed to be no sign of fear of death going through her features. She was determined to end this once and for all. This was a fight she was willing to battle alone.

The kunai was now mere centimeters away from its target. Sakura was out powering Orochimaru. The end of both of their lives seemed imminent. "He's distracted. Go for it…" Sakura whispered.

**

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Inside Sakura's body

Inner Sakura gathered chakra into her fist and ran toward Orochimru's spirit. When she was close to him, she delivered a deadly blow. Her chakra loaded fist made an impact with his left cheek which made a sickening cracking sound. "This body is only big enough for one of us. Someone has to go, and that someone isn't me."

"How is this possible? It's like you have two spirits inside you. One of you took control over the body, while you are here. How?"

"That's none of your business! Now get out," Inner Sakura ordered.

"ARG! No, this body is now mine!" Orochimaru hissed.

"Get out!" Inner Sakura screamed as she ran toward him and punched him repeatedly. She drew chakra into one fist and punched him right on the jaw.

**

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Outside (again)

Sakura was in a lot of turmoil. The fight inside her body was taking a great toll on her whole body. If the fight didn't end soon she would collapse completely. She fell on the ground and moved her knees close to her chest and embraced them. Small grunts were coming out of her, a sign of the pain she was feeling inside, but everyone was unable to help her. "Please, end it soon," she whispered to her Inner.

**

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Back inside

Time had passed. Orochimaru was beaten to a pulp. Bruises covered his entire body. "This is it. I can't take much more." He drew out a tired pant.

"Do you want more or will you get out?" Inner Sakura raised a threatening fist. She smirked, signifying she could keep on beating him up for hours. Inner Sakura's anger problem was something to not take lightly. Infuriate her, and you'd be in for a trip to the infernos of hell itself.

"Kekeke!" Orochimaru laughed tensely. "You win this time, but watch out; I will be back- better and stronger than ever." He threatened and got out of Sakura's body. There would now be one itsy bitsy problem; he needed a body. He had no other choice but to go back inside Kabuto's. Once he had tried to take over Sasuke's body and he had not been successful. Naruto already housed the nine-tailed fox so he was not choice. The choices were eliminated only to leave Jiraiya and Kakashi, but the chances of him being able to successfully take over one of their bodies was slim. Although, Kabuto's body was badly injured, he had to back inside his body.

Sakura froze as Orochimaru came out of her. Her body began to tremble violently. She fell on her knees. Her nails clawed at the ground trying to withstand the pain shooting through her whole body. It was as if a thousand needles were going right through her.

Before he had left Sakura's body, he had drained her chakra and took it all with him to Kabuto's body to try to heal himself.

Sakura had to lean against the wall to not fall due to the chakra loss. Her breaths became shallow. "Never pant do pant that pant again…" were Sakura's last words to Orochimaru before she fainted and fell to the ground.

"SAKURA!" Naruto yelled and ran toward her immediately once he saw she had fainted. He kneeled down next to her trying to make sure she was okay. For once in a long time, Sakura looked like she was in complete peace and serenity.

Meanwhile, Orochimaru was back inside of Kabuto's body. Every muscle ached painfully as he tried to move. He stood up slowly and quietly as he tried not to attract any attention. Clutching his stomach, he went for the window in hope that he could jump out and escape.

**(This is my personal favorite part!) **"Going somewhere?" A stoic voice came from behind him.

Orochimaru quickly looked behind him to find none other than Uchiha Sasuke. He had never actually felt any fear before. Now looking at the last Uchiha's dark obsidian orbs, he felt chills go through his whole body. Sasuke had shown before he could take him out and not regret it. There was nothing to stop him. He was even more determined to kill him this time.

"What were you trying to accomplish by using her?" Sasuke grabbed Orochimaru by the neck. His steel grip choking Orochimaru who tried to struggle out of his grasp. Orochimaru's hands tried to claw him out, but it was no use; he had a helpless mouse trapped within the fierce paws of the cat. Already the lack of oxygen was making the whole world around him go black.

Sasuke gripped his neck even tighter and slammed him against the wall. "Your fate became sealed when you laid your eyes on her." His voice was in monotone, but his eyes showed slight pleasure in what he was about to do. He unsheathed his katana and pointed the sharp blade toward his ex-Sensei.

He closed the small distance between his katana and Orochimaru's heart. The blade went swiftly through Orochimaru. Orochimaru's eyes went wide with inconceivable pain, and then he fell forwards onto Sasuke's shoulder. Orochimaru's crimson blood dripped onto Sasuke as he took his katana out.

The Uchiha grabbed him by the back and took him out of the building. Once outside, he threw him into the sky with amazing strength. _This time I'll make sure you never come back,_ Sasuke thought bitterly. He made some hand signs and shouted, "Fire Style; Fire Ball Jutsu!" A great ball of fire erupted from his mouth and burned what ever was left of Orochimaru. He allowed a devilish smirk to cross his face as he realized the end of a long era of the snake Orochimaru.

Now Orochimaru's remains were burned- _gone_. The pedophile could no longer exist to torment young boys. **(Sorry I had to put that in.)**

After making sure that even the ashes were scattered, Sasuke went back inside the building to unite with everyone else. Kakashi was already carrying Sakura bridal-style. Everyone was ready to go back home. They would now have one less problem to deal with. Orochimaru was gone for good…Or was he…? After all, the snake had come back way too many times, as it is.

"What. Have. You. Done. To Orochimaru-sama...?!"

_'... Crap.' _Sasuke had had enough fighting for one day. He turned around to be face to face with a sound ninja and chidoried him straight on the heart. He fell on the floor with a thud. After that, no one paid particular attention to him. They just ignored him.

"Alright! Let's go home!" Naruto shouted excitedly. At the same time, he raised one fist up in the air and smiled his genuine foxy smile.

"Naruto, you idiot, quiet down or you'll wake Sakura." Kakashi scolded the high spirited blond.

"Hehe!" He laughed nervously while rubbing the back of his head.

"You guys go ahead. I need to go check on something." Jiraiya uttered. He turned in the direction in which Shizune currently live in. "Since Shizune was in this mission exchange thing because of Orochimaru's idea, I think its safe for her to leave along with you." He pointed toward Kakashi and the rest of team Seven. "I'll go inform her. She shall catch up with you in a matter of minutes. The villagers also need to know of the situation so they can fix everything." He turned his back to them and left.

"Ok…" All shinobi, excluding Jiraiya, left toward the gates. They took one last look back at the village where many events happened. Bad memories came to mind. Memories which they didn't want to remember. This would be one of those times they would just ignore and forget. With one last look, they departed.

**

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What will happen now? Will Sakura remember all of this? How will Tsunade react to the whole situation? More importantly, how will the elders react? Will she be punished this time? Will I update soon? More importantly, will I ever stop 'talking'?

**Find the answers to these and many other question in the next chapter of Gone.**

**Please review! If you don't, well let's just say that the people who didn't review last chapter didn't like their surprise. (Insert evil laughter)**

**BN: Hey, Sakura4eva here. I just wanted to say that it's not Sanin Sakura's fault for the late chapter - it's mine. Yeah, sorry about that! -.-**


	27. Back Home

_**Hello peoples! I'm back and better than ever!! (Yeah right) Anyway, I'm SOOOO sorry for not updating earlier. Trust me, I feel horribly bad about letting you hang for a long time when I said I would update soon. I'm SOOOO sorry. Please forgive me.**_

_**Disclaimer: ….What made you even think I owned Naruto? Huh? Tsk. Tsk. Tsk. You disappoint me.**_

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'_Thoughts'_

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Recap:

"Alright! Let's go home!" Naruto shouted excitedly. As he said this, he raised one fist up in the air and smiled his foxy, but genuine smile.

"Naruto, you idiot, quiet down or you'll wake up Sakura." Kakashi scolded the high spirited blond.

"Hehe!" He laughed nervously while rubbing the back of his head.

"You guys go ahead. I need to go check on something." Jiraiya muttered. He turned in the direction in which Shizune was currently living in. "Since Shizune was in this mission exchange thing because of Orochimaru's idea, I think its safe for her to leave along with you." He pointed toward Kakashi and the rest of team Seven. "I'll go inform her. She shall catch up with you in a matter of minutes. The villagers also need to know of the situation so that they can fix everything." With that said, Jiraiya turned his back to them and left.

"Ok…" All shinobi, excluding Jiraiya, left toward the gates. They took another look back at the village where many events happened. Bad memories came to mind. Memories that they didn't want to remember. This would be one of those times they would just ignore and forget. With one last glance, they departed.

**End of Recap**

* * *

She was content, thrilled, and- oh, who cares…? She was happy. All that couldn't even begin to describe how she felt. She had finally returned home after all of this time from the phony mission. The nostalgia had been eating her from the inside out. Home felt great. She made her way to the Hokage's office.

Knock. Knock. There seemed to be no answer coming from the Hokage's office. She knocked louder, and yet there was still no answer. She walked in quietly making sure not to make too much noise. '_Of course, leave it to Lady Tsunade to sleep on the job.' _Tsunade rested her head on paper that covered her whole desk. "Ahem." She cleared her throat to catch the sleeping Hokage's attention.

"Huh?" The Fifth Hokage lifted her head from a stack of papers she had been using as a pillow. Ink from the papers had marked her cheek and now there was writing on it. She finally looked up and saw Shizune standing in front of her desk. **(Let's be truthful, who thought it was Sakura?)**

"Shizune? Shouldn't you be in the Village Hidden Among the Stones?" She asked in a sleepy tone of voice, wondering if she was still asleep and this was a dream. A dream where she was always content, there was unlimited amounts of sake, no bad luck, she always won bets, a little romance now and then, Dan and Miwalki were still alive, and Naruto didn't exist…At least not the loud, boisterous one. Now was that too much to ask? Apparently, for her it was.

"You probably wish I was don't you? We just got here. I came to tell you that Sakura's in the hospital and-" She was cut off.

"SAKURA'S WHERE!?" Tsunade yelled throwing piles of paper all over her office in the process. Her pig, Tonton, who had been napping on the floor peacefully while its master slept, woke up, startled from the yelling.

Shizune backed away from Tsunade a little, afraid of getting in the way of her rampage. "A-a-apparently, Sakura and Sasuke somehow ended up in the Hidden Village of Stone with Naruto and Kakashi. Sakura somehow got injured and is currently in the hospital. I think you should go check up on her." Shizune finished explaining. She was quite frightened by Tsunade's rage. Somehow, she was always the one who witnessed it, much to her displeasure.

Tsunade stood from the chair behind her desk immediately. "Let's go." She ordered and walked. Shizune picked up Tonton and out followed the exasperated Hokage.

The two soon arrived at their destination. The first thing they heard when they opened the double doors of the hospital were Naruto's loud snores. The journey that should have lasted at least three days, had only taken them half the time. Such a long distance could tire even the most skilled ninja. Naruto had been the only one that had let sleep completely overtake him. He sat slumped on one of the hospital chairs, drool making its way to the floor from his mouth.

Kakashi sat in one chair reading his favorite book as if nothing else mattered. He laughed in amusement now and then from something he would read. In truth, he was just as worried sick about Sakura's well being as everyone else. He looked up from his book when Tsunade walked in but continued reading, knowing that Jiraiya- who had arrived only a few moments after them- would explain the whole situation to her. Besides, who wanted to be the one to tell bad news to the easily angered Hokage?

Sasuke was leaning against the wall in corner of the room. He had his arms crossed across his chest; his eyes were closed, only to open slightly when the Hokage came in. He smirked, as if saying to her, 'Ha! I'm not the only one who worked under Orochimaru so now you can't hold it only against me,!' But, being who he was, he said nothing.

Tsunade quickly noticed his smirk and frowned. "Uchiha, wipe that smirk off your pretty, little face or I'll do it for you." She threatened dangerously while glaring at him. Sasuke didn't see that since he had his eyes closed, but he still did as he was told. "Now, will someone tell me what exactly happened?" She asked, though it came off more of an order. Everyone's tired looks had not gone unnoticed by her.

Jiraiya- who, for once, had not yet left- walked up to her. "Tsunade, I think we should talk in private." His voice sounded too serious for Tsunade's comfort.

Tsunade led him to a room where no meddlesome nurses or doctors would overhear their conversation. As soon as they entered, Tsunade quickly ended the eerie silence. "So are you going to tell me now or not?"

"Orochimaru was alive." Jiraiya wasted no time in going to the point.

"What!? Uchiha said he had personally took care of him. Don't tell me he was still working for him." Her voice held obvious disbelief.

"No, he wasn't, but Sakura was."

Tsunade's eyes went wide. "Who are you and what did you do to Jiraiya? He would never lie to me like this." She walked up to him and shook him violently by the collar of his shirt.

Jiraiya looked at her like she was crazy. He should have known that this would be her reaction… or possibly even something a lot more life threatening. That was Tsunade for you, though.

Tsunade saw Jiraiya was serious about the whole ordeal. She was speechless. Now, everything seemed to make sense. To become as strong as Sakura had, she had had to trained under someone just as strong, and who better than not one but two of the Legendary Sannin? The lack of emotion had been thanks to Orochimaru, that was certain.

Jiraiya gave Tsunade some time to digest the information he had just given her before continuing. "Orochimaru in his dying moments took over Kabuto's body and survived. As I managed to find out in the end, he went to the Hidden Village of Stone. Sakura had been living there at the time. In need for power, Orochimaru assassinated the late Tsuchikage only to take the title for himself. Sakura was asked to become Tsuchikage instead to Orochimaru, but she refused saying that she couldn't since she hadn't been born there. A more likely assumption, however, would be because her name would become well known in all the villages, and she feared being found by us. Anyway, Orochimaru lied his way into taking the place. People said that one day Sakura went to visit him without knowing who he really was, and she was never the same again. I later found out from overheard Orochimaru talking to Sasuke that he had placed a curse mark on her. A curse mark that didn't transform its wielder, but drained the wielder's emotions which explains why she acted the way she did. Without any emotions, she was able to master any jutsu perfectly and take out anyone she was asked to."

Tsunade was speechless. What could she say? There were no words to describe how she was feeling. If Orochimaru was still alive and happened to show up, she would beat the crap out of him without hesitating. How dared he do what he did to her student?!

"That's not all. When it seemed like I had finished him, he took over her body this time." He leaned back against the counter which held the medicines and potions.

Tsunade was officially disgusted by her ex-teammate's tactics. What kind of sick creature had he become? "Is he still inside her?" She managed to choke out.

"She managed to drive him out, but not before he completely drained her chakra. That's why she's here. The good new is Orochimaru is gone for sure. Sasuke made sure to annihilate his remains."

"That Orochimaru. I wish I had had the honors of pulverizing him into dust myself." Tsunade gritted out through clenched teeth. Her hands had unconsciously formed into tight, menacing fists.

Jiraiya eyed her hands, warily, before he added, "That's not the problem now. Think about how the Elders will take this whole situation." The Village Elders, when it came to S-class criminals, took matters directly into their own hands, despite it not being part of their job. Their strictness was feared by all and admired by very few. In other words, when Sasuke had had his trial, he had gotten of easy which made everyone wonder about the whole 'Sasuke' situation. Most villagers thought that there was definitely something the Elders were hiding.

"But from what you tell me, it wasn't her fault. She was under the influence of Orochimaru and the curse mark." Tsunade protested. There had to be a way to get Sakura out of this mess. "She probably doesn't even know what she did."

"Well, we will see once she wakes up. If she was aware of what she was doing, the Elders will not take this lightly and you know it." Jiraiya pulled out a manila folder from under his shirt. "I found this among Orochimaru's papers. These are more detailed mission records than last time. I looked over some of them. Some missions were to interfere with the Leaf Village's missions."

Tsunade looked over the missions. One specific mission caught her attention. "That's…" Unable to finish her sentence, she only pointed to it in the paper and showed it to Jiraiya. "Jiraiya, I really don't think she meant to kill them and do all this. She had to be brainwashed. If Sakura knows this, she'll detest herself. Promise me that you'll never tell anyone this- especially her. This is a secret we must both take to our graves." Tsunade put the folder away. She had to make sure no one saw its contents at all costs.

"Hm…." Jiraiya walked out the door silently. The conversation was finished for now. As the door opened slightly, a black, ink-like rat scurried out from under the medicine counter and out the door. **(Hint hint)**

* * *

"I wonder what's taking Lady Tsunade and Master Jiraiya so long." Shizune wondered out loud. She had began pacing back and forth through the hospital. She was beginning to get tired of waiting and not knowing about the current situation.

"Hm?" Kakashi's uncovered eye perked up from his book to look at Shizune who was right in front of him with the pig still on her arms.

"How can you sit there so calmly when Sakura has been out for almost two days straight?" Shizune asked.

"How? Easily." Kakashi lied and smiled through his mask.

She sweat-dropped anime style. "You know that's not what I meant." Seeing as she would not get an answer, she gave up on trying and sat beside him. Soon, she was starting to fall asleep when she saw Jiraiya coming out of the room from the corner of her eyes. "Where's Lady Tsunade?"

"She went to check on Sakura. I'm sure she'll tell you how she is doing in a few minutes." He answered while walking toward the exit.

"Master Jiraiya, where are you going?"

"I …" He stopped to think of something to say. His perverted grin spread over his face. "I need to do some research." He said and with that he left.

* * *

The door to Sakura's room slowly creaked opened. Tsunade poked her head in first to make sure she wasn't disturbing her somehow. Once she was sure she wasn't, the Hokage opened the door more and walked in.

Sakura lay in the hospital bed covered by the white, hospital sheets. Her chest moved up and down in accordance with her calm breathing. Her pink bangs covered part of her pale face.

'_Sakura…Grr… This is all that sick bastard, Orochimaru's fault that you are like this.'_

Sakura began crying in her sleep. The effects of Orochimaru being inside her had obviously not left her. Tsunade walked over to her and moved her bangs away from her face. She placed her palm on her forehead and inserted chakra to calm her down from her mental pain. Once Sakura calmed down, she sat in a chair next to the bed. She was not willing to leave her student alone; not now._ 'Please wake up soon, Sakura.'_

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It was a dark, cloudy day. Rain was making its way toward the village. Nevertheless, she continued walking toward the training grounds to meet with her teammates. As she passed through the village, the villagers glared sharp daggers in her direction. Those threatening looks went unnoticed by her. Nothing was going to stop her from reaching her destination.

_**Soon she saw the rest of her teammates. She walked up to them, cheerfully, and gave them one of her innocent smiles. "Hi!" She chirped with enthusiasm. She was ready for the events for today.**_

_**There was no reply from her teammates. They continued talking about their previous subject. She pouted childishly and put her hands on her hips. "You know it's rude to ignore someone."**_

_**Finally, Sasuke looked at her uninterested. "Hn." He grunted indifferent to her presence beside him. **_

_**Sakura, knowing Sasuke would only grunt that, walked up to Naruto. She placed a hand on his shoulder. "Hey, Naruto, do you want to go get some Rame-"**_

_**He slapped her hand away from himself forcefully and backed away with a disgusted look on his face. "Get away from me you monster!"**_

_**Her smile dropped **__**instantly, knowing there was something really wrong**__**. "What's going on?" She looked at them confused, then turned to Kakashi. Surely he'd explain everything to her. Who knows; maybe they were playing some sort of cruel game on her.**_

"_**Naruto, Sasuke let's go somewhere else…somewhere we won't be bothered." Kakashi glared at her and began walking away. His book was nowhere to be seen, signifying he was dead serious.**_

_**The clouds that covered the sky began raining down small droplets of water. Those soon turned into larger droplets pouring down on to her. Here clothes clung to her small body, and she began trembling from something that had nothing to do with the weather. Confusion washed over her. "What did I ever do to you?!" She screamed while crying. Her tears mixed with the rain, making them unnoticeable to anyone.**_

"_**You became a monster the day you joined **__**him**__**." Kakashi told her. His back still facing her.**_

"_**I always considered you my sister. Yet, you told me things that made me feel horrible right in here." Naruto spat icily while he pointed to his heart.**_

"_**You almost killed me." Sasuke spoke **__**with his voice in so much monotone; it was almost taking the very word 'unemotional' to a whole new level. A level she, nor any one else, would want to go.**_

"_**They died because of you…" Kakashi continued. Two reeking corpses appeared beside her feet. Sakura tried to make out their features and recognize them, but she was unable to. The rain blurred her vision. "You hurt many people because of **__**him**__**."**_

"_**I don't understand." She said in a quiet voice. "WHO THE HELL IS **__**HE**__**?" **_

"_**Your so-called master. The person you worked for….MONSTER!" Naruto shouted, malevolence dripping from his voice.**_

"_**NO! I didn't mean to. I couldn't stop!"**_

"_**MONSTER!" All three of her teammates screamed at her, to which she only responded by covering here ears and shutting her eyes tightly **__**in a desperate attempt to stop their accusations.**_

Sakura awoke with a sharp cry, sitting up in the bed immediately and clutching the white bed sheets that were now covered in her sweat. That horrendous nightmare seemed so real. She began shaking uncontrollably, unable to stop. Tears rolled down her pale cheeks as she remembered it. Everyone called her a monster, and she had no idea what had happened. She couldn't even tell who the dead bodies had belonged to. The hatred she had saw in their eyes was…unbelievable.

"Who? What? When? Where? Why? How?" Tsunade blurted out so fast it was hardly understandable. She had fallen asleep while trying to wait on Sakura to wake up. When Sakura had screamed, she had had an abrupt wake up call.

She stood up from the chair and walked toward Sakura. Her hands were clutching her head, her head was resting on her knees, and she was crying and shaking uncontrollably. The question was, why? "Sakura, are you okay?"

She finally looked up to notice Tsunade right beside her. "Sensei?" She looked around the room with wide eyes. The tears stopped. The smell of medicines and injured people made her realize she was at the hospital. "Sensei…How did I get here?" She asked bewildered.

Tsunade immediately noticed that Sakura was acting different than before. She was acting like herself again. "You don't remember?" Sakura shook her head no. "Your team brought you back after the fight with Orochimaru. Apparently, you were working for him."

"_You became a monster the day you joined __him__…" _Kakashi's words echoed through her mind.

She froze. Instantaneously, all of the memories came back to her mind; the memories of working under Orochimaru and the missions she had carried out for him, but more importantly who the corpses in her nightmare belonged to. Her nightmare had been like the harsh, cold reality she could some how not remember until just now. She wished all of that could be completely obliterated from her mind. She didn't want to think about them; at least not now. Now she had other things in her mind. Things like Tsunade and the Village Elders.

Once again tears filled her eyes until they rolled down one by one. "They were right…" She cried sadly. "They were right." She repeated as more and more crystalline tears fell from her eyes. "I….I am a monster." She whispered to herself.

Tsunade- realizing what she had just done- stopped talking. Maybe, she had just said a little too much a little too soon. '_Ooops…I had to open my big mouth, didn't I?'_

"I…I'm a heartless monster…" Sakura repeated a slightly louder this time. She wanted to run away to where she didn't know anyone and no one knew her. Go where there was no pain. She wanted to depart from this life once and for all. Sooner or later, though, she would have to face the consequences. Sadly, it would be most likely sooner than later.

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FINISHED! Okay…just in case you are wondering, Sakura is not going to lose all her power. She did train. Orochimaru didn't just give it all to her. She's still going to be kick-ass. Everything will work out, I promise. You just have to wait …and review…please.

**More of the truth to be revealed next chapter…**

**Anyway, please review. I'm trying to update fast, but I have a friend who got me addicted to reading the **_**Twilight**_** series (You HAVE to read it if you haven't read it yet) and I couldn't stop reading until I finished. Also, my stupid brother messed up my stupid computer for some time so….**


	28. Imprissoned

**Here's the next chapter!**

**Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: starts whistling and walks away**

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'Thoughts'

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Recap:

She froze. Instantaneously, all of the memories came back to her mind; the memories of working under Orochimaru and the missions she had carried out for him, but more importantly who the corpses in her nightmare belonged to. Her nightmare had been like the harsh, cold reality she could some how not remember until just now. She wished all of that could be completely obliterated from her mind. She didn't want to think about them; at least not now. Now she had other things in her mind. Things like Tsunade and the Village Elders.

Once again tears filled her eyes until they rolled down one by one. "They were right…" She cried sadly. "They were right." She repeated as more and more crystalline tears fell from her eyes. "I….I am a monster." She whispered to herself.

Tsunade realized what she had just done and stopped talking. Maybe, she had just said a little too much a little too soon. 'Ooops…I had to open my big mouth, didn't I?'

"I…I'm a heartless monster…" Sakura repeated a slightly louder this time. She wanted to run away to where she didn't know anyone and no one knew her. Go where there was no pain. She wanted to depart from this life once and for all. Sooner or later, though, she would have to face the consequences; most likely sooner than later.

**End of Recap**

* * *

"I'm a monster," Sakura repeated again and again until Tsunade grew tired of hearing her like that.

She raised her hand, only to make contact with Sakura's cheek. Yes; Tsunade had just slapped her. Even Tsunade herself could not believe what she had just done. She stood still with shock. "I'm sorry..." she whispered, ashamed of her action.

Sakura stopped crying the second she felt the impact of her Sensei's hand with her cheek. She brought one hand up to rub her sore skin. With wide eyes, she looked up to her Sensei.

Tsunade walked up to her and embraced her in a tight hug. "I'm sorry, I just couldn't think of anything to make you stop saying that. You are not a monster. Everyone makes mistakes, and most of the time they can be fixed; big or small."

"I'm s-sorry!" Sakura managed to choke out.

Tsunade smiled. Everything was turning back to normal, or so it seemed. All she needed now was Sakura's side of the whole story. "Sakura…" But she stopped, debating on whether she should continue, or if it was just too soon for this conversation. Deciding this would be as good a time as ever, she began again. "Sakura, what's the last thing you can remember? After you left, I mean..."

"I left the village…" She stopped, editing out parts of her story - parts that she knew she must not tell even her Sensei; at least not yet. "I traveled around many villages trying to find new challenges to become stronger." Sakura looked up to Tsunade expecting her to be angry with her. "I couldn't defeat Sasuke when he attacked the village, so what chances did I have to actually make him stay? The Hidden Village of Stone is the last place I remember being at. I went to visit the Tsuchikage. Then, everything went black for a while. When I woke up, I could see what I was doing, but I couldn't stop myself. It always felt like I had this strong urge to kill."

"Did Orochimaru say anything to you?" Tsunade asked.

"The day I went for a visit, he said I had 'undiscovered talents.' I have no idea what he meant by that. The only thing he told me, was that I had to destroy all of my emotions. I really don't see how anyone can do that." She laughed nervously, trying to make light of the tense situation, but stopped abruptly when she saw Tsunade deep in thought.

"The thing is... That's exactly what you did."

"How?"

"Well, Jiraiya told me Orochimaru had implanted a type of curse mark on you that drained all of your emotions."

Sakura lay back on the bed. "I must have caused a lot of trouble, huh?" she asked, staring up at the ceiling. Not that there was anything interesting about it; just boring, white tile - the usual hospital appearance.

"Lady Tsunade?" Sakura looked at her Sensei. Tsunade turned to face her, her eyes wide with fear, her face as pale as a ghost.

"They know already? How?" Lingering, hollow footsteps echoed through the hospital corridor making their way there. Tsunade unconsciously clenched her hands together and ground her teeth together. She scowled. _'Darn it, not enough time for…'_

The door to the room opened gradually. Immediately, Tsunade turned her scowl into a forced smile. "What brings you two here?" Tsunade queried in a sickly sweet tone of voice as the two village elders, Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu, walked in the room, followed by a young, black-haired, expressionless boy. He dressed in a way which made him look gay.

"Tsunade… You must already know why we are here. Do not perturb us with your mediocre questions," Mitokado Homura stated plainly, his voice dead serious.

"The girl is a threat to the village." Utatane Koharu pointed an accusing, wrinkled finger at Sakura. "She will be imprisoned for committing treason against the Hidden Village of Leaves."

"So…" Tsunade tried her best to sound casual, rather than stressed. "How did you figure it out so rapidly?" Her eyes immediately going to the boy next to them.

"We have our sources." Both Elders' eyes also going to the boy who only stared out the window expressionlessly.(**Okay the 'black, inklike rat' was one of Sai's techniques. Just so you aren't confused.)**

Suddenly, the bed began to make creaking noises. Sakura sat up on the side of the bed, her ninja boots beginning to slide into her feet. She stood up. "You are here for me, huh?" There was no trace of emotion in her voice. "Let's go then." She began walking toward the exit, leaving everyone wide-eyed.

"Sakura?!" Tsunade was shocked by her apprentice's once again blank reaction.

"I know I did … things I shouldn't have. I accept full responsibility."

"But…"

"Sai?" Utatane interrupted. He motioned him to do something. Sai went to Sakura's side and tied strings to her small wrist too tight.

"Let's go." Sai's voice was icy cold.

"She's going on her own will. There's no need to do that." Tsunade looked at Sai, disgusted.

"She's nothing but a criminal, Tsunade. It does not matter if she was your apprentice at one point or another."

Tsunade walked over to Sakura and embraced her in a tight hug. She leaned down a little to her ear. "I'll get you out of there. I promise." She whispered as low as her voice could manage, but still be audible to only her student. Then she let her go.

Sai immediately tugged on the strings so they could leave already. Sakura paused for a moment, but soon followed after him.

* * *

Naruto yawned, louder than actually necessary. He stood up from the chair he had been sleeping on and stretched his stiff muscles. His eyes caught sight of the Uchiha prodigy and went to his side. The blonde poked him on the shoulder with his index finger. "Hey, Sasuke? Did anything interesting happen while I was taking a nap?"

Sasuke, who had his eyes closed, opened one eye and looked at Naruto. "Hn."

"Arg! Is that a yes or a no?" The short-tempered boy yelled. His temper made him feel like ripping the hair out of his head.

"Shh!!" All visible nurses and doctors scolded him with annoyed frowns on their faces.

"Oops! Sorry." He smiled sheepishly while rubbing the back of his head.

From out of a corner of the hallway, Sai walked toward the exit; Sakura right behind him, followed closely by the Elders. Everyone stared in awe at the scene. Sakura's wrists tied by chakra strings held by Sai, while the Elders looked like they had their guard up, as if suspecting Sakura to try to break free and run at any moment.

"Don't look so surprised. You all knew this was coming." Sakura hissed venomously.

Naruto's eyes looked like they were about to pop out of their sockets and his mouth was hanging wide open. He never expected this to happen. He looked back and forth from Sakura to the Elders, eyes demanding an explanation.

"I expected Naruto's surprise, but not yours, Uchiha. I can't believe I actually got some emotion out of you."

Everyone turned toward Sasuke, and sure enough, he was in total disbelief. He had never suspected Sakura - the annoying, cheery fan girl - to be going to prison. It was completely out of character for him to be surprised this much and for him to show it, but he couldn't help it.

"All of your talk about obtaining power made me curious. I guess your little attitude was contagious." Sakura commented flatly.

"How so?" His tone matched hers, his façade returning to its usual coldness.

"'No matter what darkness lies ahead, I will pursue that path. No matter what; I will obtain power!'" She mocked his words from when they were younger. "Then I wanted to give this 'power' thing a shot. Didn't work for me, though." With that, Sakura began walking toward the door, but stopped unexpectedly. "I'm sorry Naruto … for all the things I said before." Then she tugged at the strings to get Sai to move so they would be out of that place.

Sai noticed her impatience and walked out, Sakura at his side. The Elders took their time looking at everyone, but soon followed.

"WHAT IS GOING ON?!" Naruto yelled angrily. He only waited for an answer, so he could rush out to help Sakura and beat the crap out of the idiot who had taken her. All he received, however, were blank stares. No one knew exactly what was going on.

* * *

"Stupid Elders with their stupid rules and their stupid followers..." Tsunade mumbled, as she pace back and forth through the room. She had to find a way to free Sakura. This was her apprentice- cross that; her _daughter _going to prison where vile criminals dwelled. Sure, she had done things against the village, but then again so had Uchiha. _Uchiha…!_ Slowly, a small smile became pronounced on her lips. Sasuke was going to help whether he wanted to or not. There was no way that her plan would fail.

"BAA-CHAN!" Naruto struggled against all the doctors who held him back to let him in the room. "Let me go!"

"This is a hospital. There is no need for yelling. Get out of here." One of the doctors ordered.

"Let him in." Tsunade instructed. The doctors immediately did as she said, and one by one dispersed, heading their opposite ways.

"Where did they take Sakura?" Naruto hissed angrily, his eyes flaring red.

"What did you expect? She committed treason." Her voice showed no patience in explaining every detail to the blond, hyperactive ninja.

"But… But… But…!" Naruto couldn't think of anything to say. He knew Tsunade was right. "Can't you help her… Please?" His eyes and voice were equally pleading.

Tsunade smiled broadly. "You didn't expect me to sit here and do nothing, while my own student is sent to prison, did you? I feel like there's something Sakura didn't tell me that could probably get her out of this mess. Knowing how stubborn she can be, however, I suspect she won't tell me easily."

"So you talked to her already?" Naruto's eyes went wide with excitement.

Tsunade merely nodded and mumbled something under her breath while walking out.

* * *

_'This shouldn't be very complicated. Although, I haven't done this in quite some years, so that could pose a problem...'_Tsunade walked stealthily toward the Elders' meeting room. She hadn't turned on any lights on her way. Her eyes were having trouble adjusting to the darkness. _'Me, the Hokage, sneaking around, spying on the Elders?! How absurd!'_

"Well, what do you propose we do?" A voice from inside the room asked.

Tsunade pressed her ear against the wooden door for better audibility. Her hands were against the door.

"She refuses to tell us anything she found from Orochimaru or his connections to Akatsuki…"

"Remember that it is said Orochimaru left the organization a few years ago."

"Yes, but still... He could have been secretly working with them, just making it seem like he had nothing to do with them. One thing is for sure, though; Haruno knows something important."

The voices suddenly grew even quieter. Tsunade had to strain a bit harder to hear.

"Do you think it has anything to do with Itachi Uchiha? Haruno was looking at Sasuke Uchiha kind of strangely, don't you think?"

"She couldn't know about the true reasons behind the Uchiha massacre, could she?"

"If Orochimaru _was _still working with Akatsuki, there is the possibility Haruno and Itachi had met and talked about it."

"That could give us a problem with Sasuke Uchiha. It's better if we keep Haruno in prison - at least until we identify what she knows."

"Agreed."

* * *

"Sorry; visitor time is over. We can't let you in." A guard ninja from the Leaf Village Maximum Security Prison stated, his bulky body blocked the entrance to the prison. He held his hand in front of him, signaling Naruto to not go any further.

"Come on, Mister! This is really important!" Naruto begged. Twice, he had tried to sneak past him, but his efforts proved futile against the guard.

"Sorry. Rules are rules. Now go away." He munched on a rice ball he had taken out of his pocket while arguing.

Suddenly, a smiled spread across his face. "Fine." He sighed, fake resignation plastered on his features. He walked toward a tree and hid behind it. "Shadow Clone no Jutsu!" One copy of himself appeared next to him. "You know what to do!" Naruto beamed broadly.

The clone nodded and gave him a thumbs up, then he walked toward the guard.

"Hey! Kid, I thought I told you to go away!" The guard yelled, his mouth full of rice.

"You did except…" He walked closer to him When he was close enough, he whispered on his ear, "It's getting kind of dark, and I'm really scared of the dark. Could you please walk me home?" The clone asked, lying through his teeth. Though he was a horrible actor, the guard still believed him.

"I'm not supposed to leave my post, but you really do look frightened... Ah, I guess I could take you. Hardly anything troublesome happens around here. I doubt this will be the lucky day."

"Oh, but it is!" Naruto whispered evilly.

"What was that?"

"Oh, nothing. I was just saying that you must be really brave if you don't fear the dark. You never know what 'things' could be out there."

"R-r-re-a-lly?" The guard seemed to grow frightened, himself.

"Yeah! Things like me!" Just then, the real Naruto came from behind the tree and kicked him in the back. The guard hit a tree with his face and got knocked out.

"For such a big guy, he sure is stupid. I can't believe I fooled him!" Naruto went up to his clone and gave him a high five. The clone 'poof'ed away, and Naruto wasted no time in running inside the prison. "SAKURA!" Naruto called out, frantically trying to locate Sakura's cell. Of course, the lack of light wasn't helping much, along with the rotting smell of dirty prisoners that was disturbing his little concentration. It took some time before he could even come near her prison cell.

"Naruto?" Sakura asked when she saw an orange blur rush past her.

"Sakura!" He ran back toward her direction in which he heard her voice. When he reached it, he grinned from ear to ear.

"You shouldn't be here." Sakura said shortly.

"I shouldn't have knocked out the guard; I shouldn't disrespect Grandma Tsunade; I shouldn't eat so much Ramen -I shouldn't do a lot of stuff, but I do them all. So what makes you think I wouldn't come here to see you?" Naruto disputed.

For once, Sakura couldn't counter Naruto's explanation. He was unbelievably right, after all.

"Sakura…" His voice was quiet with sadness. "I have no idea what's going on, but Granny Tsunade said she'll get you out. And even if she doesn't; I will. I don't care if I have to demolish this place and become a criminal myself. I don't care if I have to lie, threaten, blackmail, kill, bribe or all five. I'll- "

"Naruto," Sakura interrupted. "Don't worry about me. I'll be okay."

"YOU!!" The guard appeared a few feet away. "How dare you?!" He began running toward them.

"I'll come see you later, Sakura. Bye!" Naruto dashed out before Sakura had the chance to say anything else or the guy caught up.

"Come back here! How dare you lie to me! You aren't scared of the dark. You only wanted to get in!" The guard yelled, clearly more affected by Naruto lying to him, than he was to being knocked out.

* * *

"Even if the Uchiha clan's downfall was entirely their fault for plotting against the Leaf Village, we can't let this secret out." One of the voices continued.

Tsunade listened intently through the door. Things that she never knew and never intended to hear were all being revealed to her. _'Why was I kept out of this...?' _Suddenly, the Hokage had an unbelievably strong urge to sneeze.

"Achoo!" _'... Uh-oh.' _

The Elders stopped talking immediately. They stood up from their respective chairs, knocking them down in the process. "Who's there?" one of them asked suspiciously.

'_Aw crap!' _Tsunade cursed inwardly. She needed an explanation fast or who knows what could happen at this instant. If the Elders found out she was spying on them, chances were, she would thrown in prison just like Sakura. How helpful would that be? _'Think! Think!' _She told herself.

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Okay, let me explain something. The reason Tsunade sneezed was because Naruto was talking about her. You know how they say if someone talks about you, you sneeze.

**Also, I'm stealing the manga's idea of Itachi not being evil. (I always knew it!)**

**What will happen to Tsunade? Will Naruto out run the guard? What exactly does Sakura know? Will Sasuke ever find out the truth? Are you hoping I update soon? **

**Review!! Please!**


	29. A Plan in Action

_**How long has it been? Don't answer that. I feel like I've neglected my story so to make it up to all of you, I made this chapter really long. Enjoy!**_

_**Disclaimer: I only own my laptop- well 95 of it, my mom owns the other 5 of it.**_

* * *

'_Thoughts' _

'_**Sakura's Inner talking to her'**_

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Recap:

"Achoo!" _'... Uh-oh.' _

The Elders stopped talking immediately. They stood up from their respective chairs, knocking them down in the process. "Who's there?" one of them asked suspiciously.

'_Aw crap!' _Tsunade cursed inwardly. She needed an explanation fast or who knows what could happen at this instant. If the Elders found out she was spying on them, chances were, she would be thrown in prison just like Sakura. How helpful would that be? _'Think! Think!' _She told herself.

**End of Recap**

* * *

"Pervert." Sasuke muttered under his breath while walking through the darkening streets of the Leaf Village. After everyone had dispersed their ways, the only one left to watch him had been Kakashi. Once home, Kakashi had tried to force him to read his famous book series; Icha Icha Paradise.

Sasuke, of course, had refused, but Kakashi had proved to be persistent. "Someone from the team should take after me. Since I taught you more, it is understandable for you to be the one to succeed me." He had said to him.

That little speech had only made Sasuke want to barf at the nonsense Kakashi was spilling. But he couldn't blame him; his books were his way of distracting himself from feeling somewhat responsible about the fact that one of his students was in prison .

Besides, the Elders had their minds filled with Sakura. There was no way they'd find out about him not being watched. The year was almost over; they wouldn't mind him having a little freedom. He was finally going to his home, had no plans to massacre the entire village. Surprise, surprise... Sasuke gave a dry chuckle at his bad humor.

Suddenly, going home didn't sound like the best idea in the world. Too many bad memories were stored in the Uchiha compound; memories that he'd rather not remember. He proceeded with unlocking the door to his house, unlocking all his memories he had pushed to a dark corner of his mind as he did so. To him it, felt as if it had only been yesterday the life-changing event had occurred.

Without sparing a glance to any part of his dust-covered house, he walked directly to his room. Everything was just as he had left it- not one thing seemed changed or out of place. Even the picture of Team Seven was still facing down on his counter, now covered with a layer of dust.

Sasuke walked over to his bed wanting nothing more than a peaceful sleep. That's when he noticed his old Konoha headband right in the middle of his bed. Seeing the scratch across it, he remembered the near-death fight he'd had with Naruto the day he had left. Someone had been in his house, but whom…?

* * *

'_What do I do?' _Tsunade thought franticly.

She had five options. Option number one: Poof away, but the Elders probably had that boy, Sai, there with them and he'd sense her chakra. Option number two: Use the transformation jutsu to transform into someone else so she wouldn't be accused of spying, but the same problem applied as option one. Option numbers three: Tell them the truth, but that wasn't very smart. They would do something to her before she even thought about turning them in. Option number four: Run for it, but the Elders would most likely send Sai after her which would make her look even more suspicious. Option number five: Lie. Would they see through her lie or not?

'_Worth a shot.'_

The door slowly creaked open with one wrinkled hand on the door knob. Mitokado Homura stepped out, his other arm reaching for the light switch nearby. The lights immediately illuminated the halls. "Tsunade?"

"It's kind of chilly in here, don't you think so?" Tsunade began casually trying to justify her sneeze. She rubbed her arms to show what she meant.

"It's the middle of summer. It's anything but cold."

"Are you sure you don't have some sort of cooling system then?"

"Get to the point. Tsunade, why are you here? I hope you weren't doing what I think you were doing." Mitokado spat, rapidly running out of patience. He looked at her quizzically trying to uncover the hidden truth.

"I'm here to inform you that I will do all in my power to obtain Sakura's freedom. What you are doing to her is unjustified-"

"So now committing treason isn't justified enough for you," he interrupted with a glare.

'_Ouch, he got me there.' _Tsunade frowned_. _"Uchiha did the same and all he got was probation and a few hold backs. If I was able to help him, why can't I help Sakura, my own student?"

"He had reasons for not being locked up or killed. Haruno, however, has nothing in her defense-"

"Ah! That's where you are wrong," Tsunade interrupted with a smirk. "You see, Uchiha had just recently told me he had found the perfect person to restore the Uchiha clan with."

"What does this have to do with anything!?"

"It's Sakura," Tsunade said quickly. _'This has got to be my biggest lie ever. There's no way Uchiha would want that even if it's just fake, but I have to help Sakura somehow and if his is the only way then so be it. I just hope they both agree afterwards.'_

"That is out of the question. She is not a choice."

"You said yourself, and I quote; 'it would be better if Sasuke chose,' unquote, during the trial. His decision has made. You aren't planning to go back on your word, are you?" Tsunade asked hoping Mitokado wouldn't see through her lie. Sure she'd have to convince Sasuke to go along with her lie at least until they would overlooked this whole ordeal of Sakura betraying the village, but she would personally make sure he agreed.

"Is that so?" Utatane stepped out of the room to partake in the conversation. "Why didn't he come tell us himself?"

"Well… he had things…to do…" She lied quickly- a little too quickly which could give her charade away.

"What kind of things? Be specific."

"I… I gave him permission to go to the Uchiha compound. He said he wanted to clean the house a little before Sakura went there because that's where they will be living. He didn't want her to feel uncomfortable in an abandoned house." Tsunade began rambling.

"Sai?" Utatane called. Sure enough, as Tsunade had assumed, Sai was with them, and he walked out as stoic as ever. "Go to the Uchiha compound and-"

'_Please don't say bring Sasuke here. Please don't say bring Sasuke here.' _Tsunade repeated in her head.

"-Check if Uchiha is there."

'_Phew!' _Tsunade sighed inwardly in relief. _'Wait! He probably isn't even there!' _And with that, once again, she commenced her inward panic.

Sai left immediately after the orders were given without waiting to hear anything that could stop him. It amazed Tsunade how emotionless the boy was; almost of like the new Sakura. The Godaime stood, still staring at the empty place in which Sai had stood just moments ago, caught in her musing.

"Tsunade, come with us. We shall wait until Sai reports back." Both Elders walked inside with a slow, deliberate pace inside the room which they had come from. Tsunade followed, feeling anything all but comfortable. At the same time, she tried to formulate a back-up plan and a reason for her lying just in case.

* * *

-Pant pant pant- _'I think I _-pant- _finally_ -pant- _outran the big guy.' _Naruto thought. He was currently hiding behind a tree. He looked around trying to make sure he was out of harm's way.

"Looking for someone?" The guard, who was on the opposite side of the tree with his arms crossed across his chest, asked somewhat calmly.

"Hahaha…" Naruto laughed nervously. "Actually, I think _he_ just found me."

"Really? Who?" The slow-witted guard became perplexed, hastily glancing in every direction.

"YOU!" Naruto yelled from a distance, already running again.

"Arg! Come back here!" The guard turned from being dim-witted to a murderous being. He was tired of playing games with Naruto. In a blink of an eye, the guard stood next to Naruto. He grabbed him by the collar.

"Put me down! Do you know who _I_ am? I am the future Leaf Village's Hokage! Believe it!" Naruto struggled out of his grasp unsuccessfully.

"Don't make me laugh. You are nothing but a puny, idiotic kid filled with nothing but silly dreams that will never come true. Once a failure, always a failure." The guard grabbed Naruto's collar even tighter.

That last comment hit a nerve. "Shut up! I will become Hokage some day and you will look up to me."

"As if! What makes you so sure? You couldn't even bring back the traitor Uchiha home. He had to come back by himself, probably because he felt so sorry for you. And now, look at your other teammate. She's now in prison. All of your team was nothing but pathetic losers trying to fit in the ninja world."

Naruto clenched his fist tightly. He knew a lot of the things he had just said were true. One thing was for sure, though; his team was not a group of losers. Things for them had just gone a little differently. The guard seemed to keep on babbling about the bad memories he had wished to forget.

"Go on! Get out of my sight, I shouldn't have to waste my time with such a brat," the guard concluded. He threw him onto the cold hard ground. "And don't you dare come back!" With that, he walked back, returning to his post.

'_Once a failure, always a failure…' _The guard's harsh words echoed through Naruto's mind. He had never let anyone get to him; to mock his dream. Now, it just seemed so distant. Sasuke and Sakura were so detached he could hardly even call them his 'family' anymore. Sakura was in prison, where there was indeed nothing he could do for her, no matter how hard as he might try to deny it. Sasuke was his old, cold, jerk-ish self who was self-driven by his goal of revenge. Here only because he had wanted to use him. He felt so alone. Little by little his dreams were being shattered. _'_

_Is it true? Will no matter how hard I try- will I always be a failure- alone for the rest of my life?'_

* * *

"It has been confirmed. Sasuke Uchiha was in the Uchiha compound," Sai stated emotionlessly.

Tsunade sighed in relief. How things were going in her favor at the moment surprised her. She already felt more comfortable. The next step would be to convince Sasuke, but she was confident that he'd say yes- one way or another.

"Tsunade, you may leave. We shall discuss the details of this later." Utatane informed her, an annoyed scowl ever-present on her face.

Of course, Tsunade didn't need to be told twice she could get the heck out of there. Her nervousness had not yet left her and she didn't want the Elders to suspect anything.

* * *

"No."

"What!?" Tsunade almost screamed but stopped knowing full well it could easily wake up people. Immediately, after her visit with the Elders, she had come straight to the Uchiha compound for a (literally) mid-night talk. It was luck that was on her side which made her find Sasuke still awake, rummaging through his old belongings.

"No," Sasuke repeated shortly. Tsunade had instantaneously explained her plan to him in full detail. Apparently, he wanted nothing to do with it, especially since it involved faking to like (Sasuke cringed at the thought) Sakura. He was assuming that now since she wasn't in Orochimaru's spell, she would go back to being whiny, fan-girl-y, weak, emotional, Sakura.

"This is going to help her get out of prison. It's all fake, unless you're actually scared of falling in love-"

"Uchiha's don't fear anything," he replied in monotone.

"Sakura can't stay in prison."

"Not my problem." He walked toward the door and opened it. A signal that said he was ready for her to leave his house.

Asking nicely didn't seem to be going very well so Tsunade would have to resort to manipulating, and if that didn't do the job threatening would. "She can help you restore the Uchiha clan. That is one of your goals, isn't it? Sakura would be perfect- intelligent, strong, determined, medical kunoichi-"

"-who has _pink_ hair." He said the word pink as an insult. "No offence, but my children will not have pink hair."

'_Time for threatening.' _Tsunade stood up from the chair she had been sitting on. "Listen Uchiha, I tried to do this the nice way, but your arrogant ego wouldn't allow you to see things clearly. My plan will be carried out whether you like it or not. Sakura will not be kept in prison."

"Not my problem."

"It is now. I helped you get out of being kept in prison and you _will_ help me do the same for Sakura. Remember, as Hokage, I can put you in prison just as easily I kept you out. How would you carry out you selfish revenge then? Don't think I've forgotten that you're not supposed to be alone. That alone can put you in prison for quite some time. I'll even consider giving you back a few freedoms if you agree. " She walked toward the door with a threatening look on her face. "Now, are you willing to help or not?"

"Hn." He replied with a glare, knowing full well that he had been beaten. Sasuke remembered the one night he had first returned to the village. It was not the best night he had had, to put it lightly. Heck, even the Snake, Orochimaru, had provided more comfortable living conditions. That was an experience that he did not want to face again.

"I'll take that as a yes. Goodnight." Tsunade walked out the house and poofed away, leaving a very pissed-off Sasuke.

* * *

"I'd rather rot right here in prison."

"You can't seriously mean that, can you?" Tsunade asked Sakura, eyes wide in shock and slight annoyance. Another refusal to her plan; another problem.

Sakura stayed silent. For her, this conversation had been over before it had even begun. She much rather be kept in a filthy prison cell than have to pretend to be Sasuke's girlfriend. It had been hard enough being on a team together; a team that hadn't worked out for any of them.

"Try to understand. This is the only way to get you out. It's all just temporary- only until the Elders forget everything. Their old, senile memories will fade pretty quickly so there's nothing to worry about."

"Me; pretending for the whole village- what a joke!" Sakura laughed sourly.

"What happened between you and Uchiha that makes you both hate each other so much?"

"That moron tried to kill me. He thinks about nothing but himself and his stupid revenge. He only sees me as an annoying pest that gets in the way all of the time. Are those enough reasons or would you like me to keep going down the list?" Her voice was full of hatred as she inwardly read her mental list for hating Sasuke.

"Well, can you think of a better way to get you out of here? Better yet; why don't you just tell the Elders what you know about Orochimaru and Akatsuki?"

Sakura tensed as she heard Orochimaru's name and Akatsuki. "I don't know anything," she said quietly and looked away from her sensei.

'_You're such a terrible liar Sakura, but I won't force you to say anything - at least until I know what it is you know.' _"Then why not just go along with my plan? Think about all of your friends- they wouldn't want to see you here. Naruto would give up his dream- his whole purpose in life- just to get you out of here. Sasuke probably isn't such a bad person. He has already agreed to the plan." _'No need to mention I had to threaten him for him to comply.'_

"He… agreed?" Sakura asked slowly, shock was written all over face.

"Sure. He said he would do it gladly." _'Not.' _"Besides, how bad can some quality time together be? You can avoid him by working at the hospital if you really can't stand him. They would gladly take you back. Then in the night, you just go rest up in his house-"

"Wait!" Sakura interrupted instantaneously. "Did you just say _his _house?!" Sakura didn't feel like she and the words 'his house' belonged together in the same sentence -- ever. There had to be some mistake. Maybe she had heard wrong and being in this prison was making her hear things - prison had made people go crazy before...

Tsunade merely nodded. "But only because it will make everything more believable," she added. "Please, Sakura. I've lost everything in my life. Don't let them take you, too."

Sakura knew of Tsunade's painful past and when she put her request that way, she felt like she had to agree. It was as if Tsunade was using that one weakness against her so she would agree. She didn't want her sensei to suffer any more than she had to, though. "Isn't there another way?"

"Well, you can always tell what you know."

"I don't know _anything_." Her voice was icy cold. Refusing to talk about that subject any further, she lowered her gaze and started twiddling her fingers. "Don't you have some sort of back-up plan?"

"I wish I did, but that's the only plan I could come up with. What do you say?" Tsunade's voice and eyes were full of hope- hope that Sakura did not want to crush.

"I…" She stopped not sure if she was making the right decision. "I don't know. What if in the end Sasuke doesn't want to? I don't want to be made a fool."

"He does. I'll make sure of that ... personally." The older female reassured.

"Fine," Sakura muttered while clenching her fists and grinding her teeth, still not very convinced of this professed great plan for freedom. _'You better watch out Uchiha 'cause I vow to make your entire existence a living hell.'_

"Thank you, Sakura!" Tsunade rushed over to her side and crushed her in a bear hug. "The Elder's should come here sometime later to get you out. Go with the plan." She began walking toward the exit but stopped abruptly. "Oh and Sakura?"

Sakura looked up to meet her gaze. "Yes, Sensei?"

"Don't let the Elder's know I was here with you."

"Why not?"

"Lets just say, it's not the best idea." Tsunade stepped out of the prison cell, took one last look at her student with optimistic eyes, and 'poofed' out.

Sakura laid down on the pathetic excuse for a bed. How could a stack of straw covered in dirty sheets be considered a bed? She needed to get some rest for the events the next day held. The moonlight reflected through the small window and the wind began howling outside. As more and more time past the only thing going through Sakura's mind was, _'_

'_What on earth have I gotten myself into?'_

* * *

"Haruno, get up!" A voice woke Sakura up from her restless sleep. It hadn't been the best night she had had. "Hurry it up, idiot, we don't have all day," the voice demanded harshly.

Sakura sat up and rubbed her tired eyes. It was still dark outside. The moon still shone brightly in the sky. Something had had to be going on to be awoken at this hour. Without questioning the people who had been calling her, Sakura slid her ninja boots into her feet and followed them, stumbling on her own feet from lack of sleep.

She was led into a brightly lit room. She squinted her eyes to adjust to the brightness after being in the dark for so long. Inside, the Elders awaited her looking at her cruelly. Beside them was Tsunade along with Sasuke. _'Wow, that didn't take long. Lady Tsunade must have immediately gotten to business.' _

"Haruno Sakura, you have been convicted of committing treason against the Village Hidden in the Leaves. In most regular cases, you would have been sentenced to death at once, but we made Uchiha Sasuke a promise that he could choose the person he would complete the second part of his goal," Utatane informed.

"You have been summoned her for that very reason. Do you, Haruno Sakura, agree to this proposition of helping him restore his clan? True, you may try things out and if it doesn't work out- you will be imprisoned once again." Mitokado continued Utatane's speech.

Sakura looked from her sensei's hopeful face to the Uchiha prodigy's stoic features. She had a strong urge to say, 'Uchiha can go to hell for all I care,' but that had not been part of the plan. She had to follow accordingly. While resisting her desire, she gathered her strength into saying the next word. "Yes," she said, all emotion void from her voice. She felt like vomiting just for agreeing. Her dull eyes looked around the room to catch sight of a smirking Sasuke with a look of amazement. _'Why is he so happy?'_

'_Of course, she would agree. She's the same as before, taking any small opportunity to be with me. This makes me sick.' _Sasuke thought. Sasuke had assumed all of this within seconds of Sakura's decision. He felt the need to get out of this place and forget about the 'plan.' Tsunade had sworn to imprison him, but she couldn't imprison someone who didn't live in the village. He would leave and never come back if he had to.

Something surprised him, though. Why wasn't Sakura clinging to him not letting him go like he had imagined? No, this was all different from his vision. Sakura stood in the same place where she had been minutes ago. Even though she was no longer under Orochimaru's curse mark, she still looked like before- cold, emotionless, and more importantly passive.

They both felt the Elders' eyes boring into them. Without any words, they were both being ordered to show some sort of appreciation for being together. The Elders seemed to be expecting some kind of love scene. If the love scene didn't come soon, they would assume this was just some charade for Sakura's freedom. Something had to be done to convince them.

Seeing as Sakura would do nothing to seem convincing, Tsunade elbowed Sasuke on the arm pushing him forward toward Sakura.

Sasuke looked back at Tsunade glaring, conveying a message. 'What the fuck was that for?'

Tsunade returned his glare with one of her own. 'You know the plan. Follow it,' she ordered without using words, just looks.

Mentally cringing, Sasuke went up to Sakura and did the unthinkable- he actually hugged her. For normal people, the Elder's would have to see more affection shown, but this was the human ice cube. This was actually more than they had asked for. All they wanted was a few words of gratitude. Looking somewhat convinced, the Elders walked out of the room without saying much more.

Tsunade stared open-mouthed at Sasuke. She had only meant for him to show a slight amount of gratefulness toward the Elders, but since he had absolutely no experience with this kind of things, he had embraced Sakura. _'He really plays his part well.'_

Sakura stiffened. This was the closest she remember ever being to Sasuke without her being pushed away or her being the one to do the hugging. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the Elders leaving without much as a word. This time it was her turn to shove him away. Without actually using chakra, she put her hands on his chest and pushed him away. "The Elders are gone. Get away from me," she demanded icily.

Sakura shuddered. _'Did I just imagine Sasuke hugging me or did he actually do it? Doesn't matter. Uchiha touched me and now I have to take a shower.' _

'_**You know you liked it.' **_Inner Sakura coaxed.

'_Pushing him away?' _Sakura asked, fully knowing that was not what her Inner had meant.

'_**No! You liked that he hugged you.' **_

'_No, I didn't!' _Sakura denied.

'_**You are in complete denial.'**_

'_Just shut up. Do you always have to pop in when it's most inconvenient?'_

'_**Yep!'**_

Taken aback by Sakura's action and wanting more than anything to end this cheesy moment, Sasuke immediately released her and stepped away from her. That was definitely not the reaction he would have expected from the old Sakura. Maybe, this new Sakura would be more tolerable, and he would actually be able to keep up with this pretense. Looking as stoic as ever, he gave a questioning look to Tsunade. He needed to know where to go from here, and apparently, so did Sakura.

Tsunade heaved a sigh of relief. The Elders did not suspect anything. "What now Lady Tsunade?" Sakura's monotone voice interrupted her from her thoughts. The two amazingly stoic shinobi looked at her awaiting her answer.

The Godaime Hokage blinked, a devious smirk forming its way onto her face. "Now... You move in."

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This is my longest chapter by far. It's over 4 thousand words long! Please Review!

_**Wait, **_**don't click that button yet. I have a request. If any of you have any idea of what could happen next, PLEASE PM me.**** I am stuck at this part and I need help with it. I want my whole story to be original (although I think this chapter may not have been very original) and good, but a lot of the ideas I once had have already been taken. Any suggestions and ideas will be taken in to consideration. **

**Thank you very much. Don't forget to Review then PM me your ideas.**

**Also, if you haven't already, go read my other story Happily Sometimes After ****and drop a review. Thanks!**


	30. Author's note sorry

**I am seriously sorry! I know I haven't been updating at all. This story is NOT discontinued or finished. I just really don't have time at all to write, but I'm trying to find it. School and work are bitches- that's pretty much all I have to say.**

**This was just to let you all know that I am not dead (although I have been sick). Don't worry. I update eventually (in other words when I find the time.) Please bear with me. **

**Sorry to all,**

**Sanin Sakura**

**PS. I promise to update as soon as I can find the time to write the next chapter.**


	31. The Wheels are Set in Motion

**Thank you for waiting patiently for me. Without further ado, here is your reward. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: Naruto is not mine…. Is it?**

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'_Thoughts'_

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Recap:

Taken aback by Sakura's action and wanting more than anything to end this cheesy moment, Sasuke immediately released her and stepped away from her. That was definitely not the reaction he would have expected from the old Sakura. Maybe, this new Sakura would be more tolerable, and he would actually be able to keep up with this pretense. Looking as stoic as ever, he gave a questioning look to Tsunade. He needed to know where to go from here, and apparently, so did Sakura.

Tsunade heaved a sigh of relief. The Elders did not suspect anything. "What now Lady Tsunade?" Sakura's monotone voice interrupted her from her thoughts. The two amazingly stoic shinobi looked at her awaiting her answer.

The Godaime Hokage blinked, a devious smirk forming its way onto her face. "Now... You move in."

**End of Recap**

* * *

It was every girl's dream. What many young (and some old) kunoichis aspired for. To live with Uchiha Sasuke was a fairy tale to most- Sasuke being the prince charming. Even if it was for just one night, they desired to live with Sasuke.

But there was one exception; Haruno Sakura. She was dreading every mere second that passed by and she hadn't even moved in with him yet. The torture of her living under one roof with the Uchiha Prodigy was yet to come.

"Sakura, Sasuke will accompany you to your house to fetch your things," Tsunade said.

Sakura couldn't help but grimace at the thought of her walking around with Sasuke. Sure, there had been a time where she would have paid to do it, but now she would pay to get him away from her. What would people think? That they were a couple like they were supposed to think? Yech! There had to be a way to get out of this mess and quick.

"Well, I have to get some shut eye. I have some very important things to do tomorrow. You two know what to do." With that statement out of the way, Tsunade disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

Sakura began walking out of the prison building where she had just spent the last twenty-four hours, not caring if Sasuke followed of not. She was actually hoping he would stay behind and go home.

To her immense disappointment, however, Sasuke followed her. Did he do that just to annoy her?! If so, it was definitely working…

Trailing a few step behind, he walked at her pace swiftly and quietly. He had hoped the moving in thing could be held off for some time until he got used to the idea. Too bad the freaking Elders had taken everything way too seriously and done things their ridiculous way. To him, it looked like Sakura despised this plan as much as he did, which actually surprised him.

"We're here. Stay outside while I get my things," Sakura told Sasuke quite coldly with a fierce glare that could have sent shivers up anyone's spine; anyone's but Sasuke.

"Hn." Translation: whatever.

Sakura unlocked the door to her house and entered. She went straight to her room without bothering to turn on the lights. She groped her way into her closet to get a bag. She grabbed the bag and went toward the entrance of her room to turn the light on. Hitting the light switch, which illuminated the room, she turned around abruptly.

Her heart came to a stop, and her breathing hitched. Sasuke stood very close to her, looking as stoic as ever. They were practically touching, heat radiating off from their respective bodies.

_Thud….Thud…Thud…. _

Sakura's heart was beginning to finally restart itself. _Thud, thud, thud. _Faster and faster it went, unable to slow itself down due to Sasuke's proximity. Sakura didn't know what to say or do. This had totally taken her by surprise and had had no time to come up with a smart remark. "Wha…what are you doing here? I thought I told you to say outside." Sakura stuttered nervously to his proximity.

"Sakura…. People (fan girls) were staring with very perverted looks on their faces, wondering what I was doing outside your house," Sasuke began, "at night," he finally added.

"You could have waited for me at the entrance."

"Hn." Silence.

"Well? What are you waiting for go else? Go to the living room. Your mere presence disgusts me."

"Hn. Just hurry up." Sasuke walked out, leaving Sakura alone.

Without giving it much of a thought, Sakura slumped down on her unmade bed trying to get herself to calm down. With the way things were looking, it seemed like this whole charade would be harder than she thought.

'_Why did it have to be him?'_ Sakura wondered, trying to not break down in tears. _There are hundreds of available males who would have been willing to fake this for me, but I guess Sasuke was my only way out.'_

Twiddling her fingers, she stood up and continued packing. After a rummaging through all of her stuff, angry at herself, she threw her suitcase in her closet and walked out of her room with nothing on her hands. She was going to start over from the beginning with nothing that would bring her the slightest memory.

"Let's go." She ordered the Uchiha prodigy like she was his boss.

Sasuke in return gave her a fierce glare. "I thought you were packing."

"Are you questioning my actions? I can do whatever I want to." That had been the first thing to say that came to her mind. Her stubborn self just wouldn't let Sasuke had any little victory over her.

"Hn."

Silence, once again, dominated over them

… That is, until they were outside and those fan girls that Sasuke had been talking about began squealing at his appearance.

"Eek!"

"Oh my gosh! It's Sasuke!" One particularly sluttish girl squeaked.

"Wait, what is forehead-girl doing right next to him? Isn't she supposed to be like in prison?" Cried one of them, the most repulsive as well as the most merciless of the self-constituted fan girl _club_.

Sakura tried to not pay any attention to them, but they were seriously getting on her very last nerve _very _quickly. Although she really wished to send them to the deepest, darkest, pits of hell she walked without stopping.

"Hey, pink bitch, you are tainting the air which our dear Sasuke breathes. Go back to prison where you belong."

"Sasuke…" Sakura began trying to keep her cool. "Do you mind telling them all to go jump in a river and never come out?"

"Why would he? You can't boss him around like that! You bitch, I don't know who it was you threatened so you could get out of prison or what kind of witchcraft you used on Sasuke, but you are going to pay, you criminal!" The 'leader' proclaimed; her heavily makeup-coated eyes narrowed.

That was the last straw. Immediately, Sakura, who had had her back towards them all, turned around, ready to attack them all for their rude comments.

Though just dashing towards them, she felt a pair of strong, muscular, warm arms holding on to her. Butterflies flew sporadically inside her stomach, and whether from anger or something else, she stopped.

"Ignore them." Sasuke whispered.

"Let me go. I'll teach them a lesson they will never forget." Sakura hissed back in a deadly voice.

"I don't do doubt that you could do that, but you were just released from prison and if you get in a fight right now it won't look very appealing."

When it looked like he was able to reason out with her, he released his hold. "Why do you care, anyway?" Sakura questioned him.

"Hn." Why had he done it? Even he wasn't able to clearly answer that question. The first thing that came to his mind was that Tsunade had threatened to put him in prison if he didn't help Sakura so that seemed like a good enough reason for now. Either way, he didn't say anything else.

"Let's go." Sakura finally said. They both began walking toward the Uchiha compound.

"Hey, Sasuke where are you going with that harlot?" One of the fan-girls asked, her voice whining.

This was Sakura's golden opportunity. She wasn't going to let it pass just like that. If she weren't able to give them all a free ticket to hell, she would take the next best thing. Even if it pained her to say this, it would pain all of them more to hear it and that made it all worth it.

"Haven't you heard?" Sakura asked them all in a false cheery tone. "I'm Sasuke's girlfriend. Why do you think he was here in MY house?… Let's go Sasuke_-kun_."

With that, they both walked away; Sakura with a huge, satisfied grin on her face and Sasuke as stoic as ever. The way he saw it was that it was bound to be known sooner or later so they might as well get it over with here and now. This way all those fan girls would also leave him alone for once. All of the fan girls stood immobilized by the news that they had just received, their mouths hanging wide open in surprise.

As they arrived at Sasuke's house, hundreds of fan girl cries where heard throughout the entire Leaf Village. They had finally gotten over their shock just to cry and wail.

Sasuke opened the door to the house, and they walked in one after the other. The dim, eerie darkness of the house gave the feeling of loneliness. This house didn't seem like one of those houses where families lived where the feeling of happiness dwelled. This was the exact opposite.

Motioning her to follow, Sasuke led Sakura to a small room. "That's where you're staying." Sasuke said shortly.

Slowly, Sakura entered the room. It was bigger thank she expected. As she turned around to thank Sasuke or something, she noticed he was already gone.

'Saves me the trouble of doing it,' Sakura thought, and with that, because she was extremely exhausted and it was the middle of the night, Sakura curled up in the bed and fell asleep immediately.

* * *

"_**You had to have had a better reason for doing it," a voice demanded to know.**_

"_**Hn." Another voice answered.**_

"_**Did you gain power by doing it?"**_

"…"

"_**Money?"**_

"…"

"_**How about Women?"**_

"_**How about you shut up and get out of my sight?" One of the voices hissed, so deadly and venomously, it could cut through steel.**_

'_**What are those two fighting about?' Sakura wondered. She walked toward the room the voices were coming from. The guess that was formulating inside her mind was a good one, and if it was about that that they were arguing, she was wanted to know the answer too.**_

_**The corridor snaked its way to that room. Stealthily, she walked without making a sound. The Akatsuki base was more complex on the inside than it appeared from the outside. With the little time Orochimaru had given her, Sakura had had barely enough time to memorize all of the passageways. Finally, at the entrance of the room she leaned toward the wall and tried to hear as best as she could the discussion.**_

"_**Looking for some good information, I see…" A man in dark clothing and a swirl mask with only a hole for one eye appeared right in front of Sakura.**_

_**Sakura stared wide-eyed at the man. One of the main things Akatsuki hated was being spied on and that had been exactly what she was doing.**_

Sakura sat up abruptly on the bed, sweating heavily from the dream.

'_Stupid conscience; good for nothing but bothering me when I least need it. But why that old memory?' _

The sky outside was already beginning lighten up. Whether she wanted it to or not, a new day was starting. There were so many things to get done today.

First of all, Sakura had to go talk to the Hokage and get her old job back so she wouldn't have to see Sasuke much. The less it was, the better she would be able to deal with this. She would just spend most of the day at work and come to the Uchiha's house just to sleep.

That was the plan, or so she thought…

The streets of the Leaf Village seemed as crowded as ever-that was normal. What wasn't normal was how everyone's envious eyes seemed to bore a hole through her flesh like a kunai. Sakura shook their stares off. They were probably staring because she was back and out of jail.

Knock, knock.

"Come in," The Hokage said from behind the wooden door. Tsunade looked up from all of the paper to see Sakura entering her office. "So… How's everything going?" She couldn't help but asking with a huge grin.

"How do you expect?" Sakura retorted almost scowling at the woman in front of her.

"Perfectly?"

"As if anything could be perfect with Uchiha and me."

"Well, the news of you and Sasuke being together is already circulating that whole village. I know neither I nor the Elders told anyone which leaves you or Sasuke. One of you is taking this more seriously than I expected. So who delivered the message?"

'_STUPID FANGIRLS!!!'_ Sakura screamed inwardly, though her outer appearance showed nothing of these thoughts. 'Me and my stupid mouth – one of these days, I am seriously going to end up killing myself for having such a big mouth. No wonder everyone was staring at me like there was no tomorrow. According to them – without Sasuke, that is – there is no tomorrow.'

"What? I don't what you are talking about." Sakura said innocently, her calm and collected voice concealing the truth. Her back was turned toward Tsunade so she would not see her grimace. "I was just here to get my job at the hospital back."

"Oh … _that_." Tsunade mumbled. "Um… Meet me at the hospital. We'll get everything settled there. Meanwhile, I have to go run a very important errand." Then, the fifth Hokage stood up unexpectedly and 'poof'ed out of sight.

'_Great, I came all the way here for nothing. I guess I'll have to follow her to the hospital.'_

* * *

By the time Sakura had woken up and left, Sasuke had already been in the training grounds, training the hell out of himself. He hated that he still wasn't strong enough to defeat Itachi. But what bothered him even more was how much Sakura had improved. She had almost defeated him once, even if it _was_ with Orochimaru's help.

"Hey Sasuke-teme!" A very loud voice shouted at him.

"What do you want, Dobe?" Sasuke asked, sending an annoyed glance at the shinobi coming up behind him.

"To talk to you, of course!" The blond smiled at him.

"Go away."

"Aw, come on, Sasuke; don't treat your best friend like that. Let's go have some ramen – I'll pay."

As much as Sasuke wanted to train, he had to admit he was sort of hungry. Besides, Naruto was paying, which was weird because he never paid.

When they arrived, they both ordered their respective food and began eating. Naruto only ate one bowl, which was also strange then he began talking. "I heard about you and Sakura."

Sasuke couldn't help but almost choke on his Ramen. "How…" _'Sakura of course.'_ Instead of finishing his sentence, however, the Uchiha only 'hn'ed him – he had answered his own question, after all.

"I knew you two had to get together sooner or later. She did profess her love for you all of those years ago. And let me tell you something that kind of love just never fades away. Though, I have to admit, I was kind of worried for a moment when she returned and was acting worse than you." Naruto informed him, rambling away.

"Hn."

"Seriously, you don't know how lucky you are. Sakura would be the perfect candidate to restore your clan. She's an intelligent, strong, determined, medical kunoichi." Okay, he was obviously enjoying this.

'_Where have I heard this before…?'_

"What are you going to let her get away from you? You know if you don't get serious with her, there are many other guys here in the village that would definitely try to go out with her. Of course, she'd say no to them all, but you never know when she might say yes to someone. What do you have to lose? She's a heck of a lot better than anybody else in this village, don't you agree?"

"Hn. Maybe." Suddenly, a very important question came to Sasuke's mind. "Why do you care if we get together? Didn't you like her too?"

"Well, um… That was just a brotherly-sisterly love. Totally platonic." Naruto explained nervously. "Ah… Got to go!" Naruto laid a few bills on the table, enough to pay the food, and left without saying anything more.

When it felt like it was a good distance away from the Ramen shop, Naruto's figure was covered in smoke with a 'poof' – Tsunade had let the jutsu down that made her look like Naruto and returned to herself.

'_That was far too close… Still, I finally got him thinking about it. I guess operation 'Get Sakura and Sasuke Together for Real' is now underway. The wheels are set in motion.'_**(1)**

* * *

There was just no getting used to people's stares. No matter how hard Sakura tried to ignore them, she couldn't help but feel their eyes on her.

'_This day can't possibly get any worse…'_

"Hey Forehead!" Ino called out from inside the Yamanaka Flower Shop.

'_The world just loves to prove me wrong…'_ Sakura walked into the flower shop. "Ino, what do you want?" She asked coldly.

"I just wanted to congratulate you. You've beaten me." Ino's voice was full of sorrow.

"What are you talking about?"

"I already heard of you and Sasuke being together. That sort of news spreads faster than a wild fire on a prairie. Remember how we pledged to be sworn enemies because of our love for him? Well, you've won. I lost. It saddens me to say it, but it's the truth."

"Is that all?"

"WHAT? I just admitted defeat and that's all you say? Honestly, you've changed Sakura. Is that what Sasuke liked about you? Because I can sincerely say I'm much better looking." Ino said, arrogantly.

"I could not care less about what he likes, Ino." Sakura said, already bored of Ino's declaration of defeat.

"This isn't like you, Sakura. Normally, you would rub it in my face. What's really going on?"

"_Besides the fact that this is all fake; nothing."_

… How Sakura wished she could say that, but that would ruin everything. Most likely, she would be sent to prison again if the Elders found out about their plot. So, for the time being, she would just have to stay silent.

"Even though we've had our differences, I'm still your friend even if I don't show it. Sasuke is as cold as ice and is so indifferent to everyone around him, that if you aren't careful, you can totally miss the possibility that he could be just playing with you. You know him well; I'm just trying to warn you so that you will be careful."

"Are you just saying this so I will leave him and you can make your move?"

Suspicion rose in the air around the two rivals.

"Maybe… Who knows?" Ino grinned from ear to ear.

"Keep your advice. I don't need it."

"Fine by me… Just be careful." Ino whispered the last part. "So would you like to buy a flower for your one and only love?"

"No." Having finished the meaningless conversation, Sakura walked out ready to reach her actual destination.

* * *

"It has been confirmed. Orochimaru is truly dead, yeah." Deidara informed all of the Akatsuki members standing before him. This was a rare opportunity in which all members (excluding Orochimaru, of course) had gathered. Plans and arrangements to obtain all tailed beasts were to be discussed this day.

"Who was the killer?" Pein asked, somewhat uninterested. He needed to know if the person would pose a real threat to the goals of the organization or not.

"Apparently, it was Itachi's little brother, Uchiha Sasuke, yeah." Deidara answered.

"Hear that, Itachi? Your little brother has actually gotten stronger." Kisame conveyed to Itachi mockingly.

"Hn."

"Enough." Pein cut into the partners' argument. "Because we might need extra strength after extracting the beast out of the jinjurriki, we need a tenth person in this organization. That way if anything comes up afterward, we can have enough chakra after the extractions. Therefore, someone else must join this organization because we need the beasts."

"How about the Uchiha boy? He seems strong enough if he defeated Orochimaru." Konan suggested.

At that idea, Itachi felt like speaking up in protest, but someone added something before him.

"What about that girl that came here with Orochimaru the last time he was here? She was pretty strong herself…" Tobi recommended. He still remembered her strong façade from when she was around. The scare he had given her had been priceless…

"One of them will be good enough. Set the wheels in motion for someone of admirable strength to join us."

"Hai."

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(1) Okay if you didn't realize that that wasn't Naruto before I said that was not Naruto, there is something seriously wrong here. Notice how I kept on leaving clues like Naruto paying, only eating 1 bowl of Ramen, eating not just slurping, giving good advice, and using the exact same description of Sakura as Tsunade used last chapter.

**OMG I finally updated! I realize that it's not as long as last chapter but this will do for now, right? I really don't know when I'll be updating again so please bear with me.**

**Anyway, what are Akatsuki's next plans? What is Tsunade's reason for wanting Sasuke and Sakura together? Will the real Naruto appear next chapter? If he does, how will he be acting? When will I update again? ****Will you please review and make me happy?**

**Please Review! If you are confused about any part, review and I shall try to answer your questions as long as they don't give away the story.**

**REVIEW!!!**


	32. Severed Bonds

**Sorry for not updating earlier but I have been sooooooo busy! Thanks to all those who reviewed last time (which weren't many (hint hint)). Anyway, on with the story enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto**

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_Thoughts_

**Emphasis on something**

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Recap:

"Enough." Pein cut into the partners' argument. "Because we might need extra strength after extracting the beast out of the jinjurriki, we need a tenth person in this organization. That way if anything comes up afterward, we can have enough chakra after the extractions. Therefore, someone else must join this organization because we need the beasts."

"How about the Uchiha boy? He seems strong enough if he defeated Orochimaru." Konan suggested.

At that idea, Itachi felt like speaking up in protest, but someone added in something before him.

"What about that girl that came here with Orochimaru the last time he was here? She was pretty strong herself…" Tobi recommended. He still remembered her strong façade from when she was around. The scare he had given her had been priceless…

"One of them will be good enough. Set the wheels in motion for someone of admirable strength to join us."

"Hai."

**End of Recap**

* * *

The sun was smiling brightly down on all Leaf Village inhabitants. Birds sang their usual songs of merriment. The busy residents of the village bustled up and down running their errands of the day. A day of happiness, peace, and prosperity was taking place for everyone.

…Everyone but a certain blond ninja. Miserable and downcast, Naruto trudged to the training grounds to train like always. _'Why do I bother? I'm still just a failure.' _

Like a failure. That would answer how Naruto felt. All of his life, he had spent time training in order to become Hokage, to have even just one ounce of respect, but at this moment that dream seemed farther away than the Sand Village.

Like many others, he felt the necessity to blame it on his parents. Why did they have to die? With parents by his side, he would have trained even harder to make them proud instead of becoming the class clown, but no; they disappeared, leaving him without a family or anyone to feel pride for him. He was alone with absolutely no freaking family.

Then, finally, at one point when he had friends, they turned out to be idiots who couldn't appreciate the family relationship that he had never had. **IDIOTS!** That's all they were.

This wasn't about them, though – it was about him. Would he ever be able to become Hokage or not?

Not paying much attention to his surroundings, Naruto only walked and walked and … walked until he ended up in the old Team Seven training grounds.

Hesitantly, Naruto walked over to the place where he had been tied up and not given any lunch. It seemed so long ago. He remembered how Sasuke and Sakura had offered him food. It was the one and only time they had acted like a true team – unlike now. Still thinking about the past, Naruto lay on the ground with his arms behind his head acting as a pillow.

Suddenly, Hinata appeared standing next to his body, hovering a few feet above him. "N-Naruto a-ar-are you o-okay? I-ve been ca-ca-lling you for s-some t-t-time now."

"… Shouldn't you be locked inside your house by your father and unable to talk to me?" Naruto asked lowly.

Hinata immediately flushed as red as a ripe tomato and her stuttering increased tenfold. "W-w-well, th-th-the th-th-thi-ng is…" She took a deep breath, and then.... "I-decided-to-disobey-my-father-because-I-really-really-wanted-to-see-you-but-I-wouldn't-if-I-just-stayed-home-and-Neji-is-covering-for-me."

This was all rushed out in an unbelievably fast pace and it made Naruto blink and as he slowly took this in. "Huh...? Did you say you want to see _me_? Why the heck would you want to do that?!"

"I-in-inspi-ration for t-t-trai-train-ing." As she said this, if it was at all possible, she turned even redder. This was the first time she had admitted to anyone that Naruto was her inspiration for becoming stronger.

"Huh?" Naruto sat up with a perplexed look on his face.

"W-w-well…"

"You know I can hardly understand anything you are saying with your stuttering." The blond said, oblivious to the fact that she only stuttered because of him. "Maybe you should take a deep breath before you speak kind of like you just did but not so fast and think on what you are saying rather than your surroundings."

Hinata really wanted to stop, but with what she had just said to him there was no possible way she would. This was so embarrassing for her. "You see I have always seen you train and never give up on anything no matter what other people think of you. My father always thought I was a failure and preferred Neji. You have always inspired me to try my hardest on everything. I constantly believed that if you could succeed so could I. You've always worked so hard even at a disadvantage that I know one day you will achieve all of your dreams."

There had been no stuttering in that long speech Hinata had given. Even she herself was quite surprised. The blond hyperactive knuckle-headed ninja had his days too. He could give good advice once in a life time. All she had done was ignore the fact that she was speaking to her secret crush and … talk.

Naruto wasn't amazed to not hear Hinata stutter. He was just ecstatic to hear that all this time there had been one person who believed in his abilities. Moreover, he was astonished to hear that his ability to never give up had inspired Hinata. This was no time for him to give up on everything. If he did, how would Hinata cope?

Suddenly, Hinata was being tackled down by Naruto. "Heheh! Thanks Hinata that really helped!"

"What?" _'Is it me or is Naruto hugging me?'_ Instantantly, the crimson blood began flowing toward Hinata's cheeks and she knew she would faint if she didn't leave soon.

Without a goodbye, Hinata ran off toward her home, leaving Naruto confused but happy. "She has always been a bit weird…"

_Growl_…

"Hehe! I just remembered I haven't eaten all day. I should go get some beef ramen!"

* * *

They stared. Such intensity those stares held that she felt holes being bored into that creamy skin of hers. The only thing she could think of doing was ignore them… Only that was proving to be a very difficult task because that was all everyone was doing: staring.

Excessively uncomfortable, she walked toward a reception desk in the hospital. "Where's Lady Tsunade?" Sakura asked, an indifferent facade plastered firmly on her face and in her voice.

The young golden-haired girl looked like she wanted to back away from her. "Sh-she ha-hasn't c-came here today," the girl stuttered frightened for a reason Sakura did not fully understand.

"SHE TOLD ME TO MEET HER HERE. DARN THAT WOMAN!" Sakura yelled, not angry with the scared-half-to-death girl, but at Tsunade's lie.

"You called?" Tsunade called as she entered the hospital through the glass double doors, looking quite calm.

Sakura looked at her ex-mentor, anger evident in her face. Without a word, Tsunade led the pink haired kunoichi into an empty room where they could talk in private.

"Gomen, Sakura, but you really need to control that temper of yours. It's getting out of hand. Did you see how terrified that girl was? You must remember that you were recently in prison for working under Orochimaru, an S-class criminal. Just seeing you could scare anyone for what you have recently done," Tsunade reprimanded sternly.

"Too many problems going on…" Sakura muttered.

"What problems could you possibly have?" The Hokage asked lightly.

"Well, if you must know, I have been forced to live with a heartless bastard and fake to love him. Meanwhile, the entire village has bought that lie and thinks we are some sorts of love birds," said Sakura, obviously disgusted by these facts.

"That's it? Sakura, if I recall correctly, you used to love that 'heartless bastard' and-"

"That was then; this is now. Now, Nothing but hatred resides in my heart toward him. It is, after all, his fault that everything turned out how it has."

"You know it's not right to blame your problems on someone else. You felt weak so you ran away. Seriously, you were one of the best medics this village could ever hope for, but that wasn't enough. No, you wanted more power; you, Sakura, were greedy. Never did you understand that he will always be stronger than you because while you were worried about your looks in order for Sasuke to notice you, he trained."

Silence met her ears - Sakura had no smart comment for that.

"You need to shape up. Stop living in the past and let bygones be bygones. In any case, we aren't here to talk about these things. You wanted your job back. Well, you can start the day after tomorrow."

"Why not just tomorrow or, better yet, today?" Sakura asked coldly.

"Paper work has to be done first. After your 'death', yours were discarded. Here are all of the papers you need to fill out," said Tsunade, handing Sakura the seemingly towering stack of papers.

"Fine." And, not waiting for a dismissal, Sakura walked out the door, stack in hands.

'_I'm sorry Sakura, but you need to stop living in the past and realize what you have in front of you.'_

* * *

There was nothing to do for the rest of the uneventful day, so Sakura decided to go back to the Uchiha mansion.

When she got to the mansion, however, as she reached for the door know, Sakura noticed that the door was locked. On her way out, she had accidentally locked the door to the house and had no key to get in.

'_Perfect. Just perfect. I have to stay outside and look like an idiot until Uchiha comes home.'_

Knowing her best option was to stay there, Sakura sat on the doorsteps and waited and waited for a certain someone to come home.

This day was certainly not what she had expected. Nothing was happening the way she would have liked.

* * *

It was extremely late already. This had been the plan; to go home as late as possible so as not to encounter Sakura. She would be in her own room by the time he arrived at the house and he would not have to even see her. Any unnecessary arguing with her would just make him grouchy and uncomfortable and it wasn't like he could walk out – that was _his_ house.

For Sasuke, this had been a tiring day. Most of the time, he had been walking all around the village, looking at random kunoichis to see if they were worthy enough for him. He knew he needed to restore his clan, and he wanted to do it before he fought his brother incase he suffered fatal wounds…. However, to his immense disappointment, no one met his standards. He hated to admit it, but Tsunade was right: Sakura was the best choice.

Still, he couldn't bring himself to ask her for anything. She hated him and, let's be honest, he didn't think she was so great either. Not being able to leave the Leave Village surely limited Sasuke's options.

As he passed the Ramen shop, he noticed Naruto sitting there stuffing his face like always. "Ramen again, Dobe?" Sasuke asked incredulously. **(1)**

"Huh? What are you talking about Teme?" Naruto asked between mouthfuls.

"We were here this morning."

"I don't remember, but, hey – anything I might have said I didn't mean. I was just not myself." Naruto couldn't have been more correct with the last statement. Too bad he was merely referring to his gloomy self earlier.

Sasuke didn't know that, though. He remembered clearly about what 'he' had said about Sakura. He thought he didn't mean what all those things in Sakura's favor. "Hn." Sasuke shrugged him off and walked once more toward his house.

A distance from his house, he saw a slumping figure leaning on his door. Not one to stand curiosity, Sasuke walked toward the door, only to realize it was Sakura. As she had been waiting for him, she had fallen asleep.

Sasuke wondered why she hadn't just gone in. This was just so unlike her… Well, at least, it was unlike this 'new Sakura'. Then realization sunk in. She must have accidentally locked the door and not have had a way in and, because he had been trying to avoid her, he had left her outside all day. Although he wouldn't admit it to anyone, he kind of felt remorseful. To ensure this would never happen again, he would get her a key to his house sometime tomorrow.

For now, he merely unlocked and opened the door. Gently, so as not to wake her, he carried her up – bridal style – to the room he had assigned to her the previous day, and set her down. He had expected her to wake up before he could get even two feet away from her sleeping body, but she must have been so exhausted, that her usual ninja skills were on standby.

Deciding to call himself lucky that she hadn't awoken and then made some big deal of him carrying her, he began walking out of the room, but Sakura's soft voice stopped him dead on his tracks.

"Sasuke, please – don't leave me…"

Sasuke turned around to see what had come over her, but he noticed she was merely having a dream. Somewhere inside that cold exterior, that one painful memory still haunted the pink haired medic.

Hovering above her, he noticed how peaceful she looked in her sleep; so much like the old Sakura, all carefree and naive. Deep inside of himself, Sasuke had to admit that he missed that Sakura. And not just him – everyone did.

Sasuke went to his room, still thinking about Sakura. If somewhere past that stoic exterior, she still loved him like she once said she did, would he carry his goal of restoring the Uchiha clan with her? Sakura was the best candidate out of the whole village. But one other question remained: Would she let go of that grudge first that she had against him to actually help him?

**

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**

(1) He meant when Tsunade had transformed into Naruto. Of course, he didn't know that it was a trick, so he thought that it actually was Naruto.

_Finally_, this chapter has been finished! It's not as long as I would have liked, but it will have to do for now. I'm sorry to all those that I may have disappointed by not updating earlier. I can trully say I am sorry. I had no time, and I was having a hard time coming up with this chapter.

Anyway, I'm out of school already and I may update sooner if I get any ideas from all of my wonderful readers or if I come up with something. So if you have an idea please tell me so I can keep on writing.

Please review. That really helps even if you think it doesn't. ^_^

_Please, please, please Review!!! ^_^_


	33. Another Day, Another Problem

**First of all, let me say this. I think my beta has gone on a vacation or something so I decided to post this chapter so you all wouldn't have to wait longer, though I hope she's back by next chapter. _Please ignore any grammatical mistakes. _^_^**

**Disclaimer: Nope, no Naruto here.**

**Enjoy!**

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thoughts

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Recap:

"Sasuke, please don't leave me…"

Sasuke turned around to see what had come over her, but he noticed she was merely having a dream. Somewhere inside that cold exterior, that one painful memory still haunted the pink haired medic.

Hovering above her, he noticed how peaceful she looked in her sleep; so much like the old Sakura. Deep inside of himself, Sasuke had to admit he missed that Sakura; everyone did.

Sasuke went to his room thinking about Sakura. If somewhere inside of that stoic exterior, she still loved him like she once said she did, would he carry his goal of restoring the Uchiha clan with her? Sakura was the best candidate out of the whole village. But one other question remained: Would she let go of that grudge she had against him to help him?

**End of Recap**

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The next day Sakura awoke with an empty stomach demanding breakfast. Not one to ignore her stomach's need for food, Sakura stood up from the extremely comfortable bed and made her way to the unusually large kitchen was.

Immediately, Sakura began preparing breakfast.

Just as she was finishing up the last touches on breakfast, Sakura noticed Sasuke being brought down from his room to the kitchen by the delicious smell.

"Don't worry. It's not poisoned." Sakura said coldly as she saw Sasuke staring thoughtfully at the meal.

"Hn." Undecided at weather he should believe her or not, Sasuke took a very small portion of food and put it in his mouth. He was rather surprised to discover that Sakura was quite the cook ….another great quality about her, though he would never admit it out loud.

They both ate silently and awkwardly, not commenting about the incident that happened the previous day. Throughout the whole time, curiosity poked Sasuke. He wanted to ask Sakura the question that had kept him awake most of the night, but he was never one to make conversation so he kept quiet.

Once finished, Sasuke stood up and went to place his dirty dish in the sink. He was about to walk out of the kitchen but Sakura's voice stopped him.

"You're welcome." Sakura said trying to make the arrogant Uchiha thank her for something.

"I know." Sasuke smirked. His answer had been completely different to what she was expecting.

If Sakura was planning to make his life a living hell, he wasn't going to be the only one there. Step number one would be to break that strong outer appearance she was successfully holding. According to him, a part of the old Sakura still remained that yearned for him. For now, she was proving to be the best candidate to restore the clan with so he needed to do something to make her agree. Besides, the only thing that she had to do was have his children. She didn't have to love him because love played no part in his goals. In other words, he merely wanted to use her.

Sakura stood up. "Oh, you think you're so smart trying to outsmart me, huh?"

"I don't think, I know." Sasuke said like he was stating a mere fact of life.

"Well, you know what? You aren't. You are just an egotistical, cold moron who can't even thank anyone properly." With that, she had also meant the time when Sasuke had 'thanked' her just before he had left the village.

"Hn."

"Now, you can't even admit defeat properly."

"That may be true. I guess we have something in common because apparently you can't either." Sasuke said stoically.

"Can't you even thank me and get this over with?" Sakura asked. Her temper rising slowly but surely.

"No."

"What!?!" Sakura made her hands into fists, ready to use force if she needed to.

"I didn't ask for the food. You made it."

"…but you took it."

"I didn't ask for it."

"You ate it."

"I didn't want it to go to waste."

"You're conceited, cold, emotionless bastard!"

At this point, Sasuke saw the perfect opportunity to subtlety bring up the topic he wanted to talk about. "That may be, but I'm the conceited, cold emotionless bastard you fell in love with."

".Hell. If I feel anything toward you, it's hatred." Sakura said with so much passion, anyone else could have given up in this conversation, but not Sasuke.

"Then why do you dream about me?"

"Oh, so now you are sneaking around my room at night to listen what I could say?" Sakura asked, trying to avoid that topic.

"It was when you were sleeping and I was taking you to your room." Sasuke wanted to make clear that he did not go in her room like some sort of weird pervert to watch her sleeping.

"You know what? I don't have to explain anything to you." Why did she still dream about Sasuke leaving? Even Sakura herself did not know the answer.

"….because you don't want to admit that all of that supposed hatred you feel is love. You may act tough, but on the inside, you are still the old, weak Sakura from before. You haven't changed a bit."

"." Suddenly, Sakura was against the wall. While their argument had been going on, unconsciously, Sakura had been slowly backing away from Sasuke, and he had been walking toward her. Unable to move further back, Sakura stood her ground.

"Prove it. Prove to me that you hate me." Sasuke whispered in Sakura's ear as he stood mere centimeters away from her.

As Sakura was about to retaliate, she froze in place, caught by surprise.

Sasuke had taken hold of her head tenderly and began kissing her on the lips as if it was nothing. To Sasuke, this was merely a test. If Sakura pushed him away immediately, she did hate him, but if she didn't, she still loved him.

Unable to think straight, Sakura had no idea what to do. For a mere second, she thought about just giving in to her old crush, but immediately, she discarded the idea. The human ice cube could not love anyone, and she didn't want to be used. Besides, it wasn't like her to just give up. Not giving it any more thought, she did what she thought best.

Forming her hand into a tight fist, Sakura gathered up as much chakra as she could and punched Sasuke right in the stomach. Sasuke was sent flying across the kitchen to the opposite wall.

"Ugh…" was all Sasuke managed to say at the time. All of the air inside of him had been taken out by that monstrous punch. Perhaps, Sakura had even broken a rib or two. One thing was for sure, there would be a nice big bruise to remind him of what would happen if he ever crossed Sakura again.

"Do that again and I'll do more than take out the air out of your pretty body." Sakura threatened dangerously. Feeling like the winner of this dispute, Sakura walked by Sasuke and out of the kitchen.

As Sakura left, Sasuke tried to get up, but the pain was unbearable. Using a chair for support, he slowly got up from the floor. The way he saw it, he hadn't just been punched for nothing; he had accomplished something.

Although just for approximately four seconds, Sakura had hesitated. Weather she would admit it or not, there definitely was something deep within her that would not forget that love she once had for him. Not only that but as she had been leaving her eyes had betrayed her. He had seen something in them, but he couldn't exactly say what it had been. Had it been sadness perchance?

Now was not the time to decipher what he had seen. Sasuke was in too much pain to just stand there so he decided to go lay down while the pain passed away.

There was no way he would go to a hospital because he would be questioned about what had happened, and he didn't want to admit about being beaten up by Sakura. Sure, he could say he had been training but who would go along with his story. Anyway, Sakura was probably the only one strong enough to leave such a mark besides Tsunade.

* * *

She ran. She ran as far away from the Uchiha mansion to escape what had just happened._ 'Who does that bastard think he is? Mr. undeniable? There is no way he would have won.' _Sakura thought. _'I hate him nothing more.' _She tried to convince herself.

"HEY! SAKURA-CHAN!!!" Naruto's voice boomed from afar.

Sakura turned to the distraction from her problems dressed in orange. She simply nodded to acknowledge his presence.

He laughed his trademark laugh and smiled from ear to ear. "I'm so happy you are free from jail. I'm sorry I hadn't come see you before, but I had been busy with other stuff. I also heard that you and teme are together. I guess everything between you two is patched up now, huh?"

"I guess you could say so." Sakura said emotionlessly.

"Aww… come on Sakura. Don't tell me you aren't happy. You've had a crush on him since like forever."

"Things change Naruto." She had been expecting Naruto to get the hint that it was all fake, but the blond was as dense as ever.

"Not really. I mean you are still like a younger sister to me and teme is like a brother. See not everything changes."

"Yeah…I guess you are right."

"But, hey, if teme ever does something to hurt you, just remember I'll always be here for you. You just tell me and I'll go teach him a lesson or two."

Sakura smirked as she remembered how she had left Sasuke. "Don't worry Naruto. That won't be necessary for now." Then, for less than five seconds, Sakura smiled a true smile because she knew that Naruto would always be there for her.

"Before I saw you, I was going to get some ramen then train. You want to come along?" Naruto asked hoping Sakura would say yes. He wanted to spend time with Sakura since it seemed like forever since they had been together.

"Sure." Sakura agreed not for the ramen, but for the training since she hadn't trained in a while.

At the Ramen stand, Naruto slurped down bowls and bowls of ramen. Meanwhile, Sakura only had one small bowl.

"Come*slurp*on, Sakura*slurp* eat more. *Slurrrp* I'm paying." Naruto told the medic ninja with his mouth full.

"I already had breakfast." Sakura told him

"Ok, you don't *slurp* know what you're missing." Meanwhile, he reached for his wallet. He kept on trying to find it, but finally he realized he had forgotten it at home. He turned to Sakura and grinned sheepishly.

Knowing Naruto, Sakura already knew what he wanted without him having to talk. "How much will it be?" She asked the ramen shop owner.

After paying a ridiculous amount of money for all of the bowls of ramen Naruto had eaten, they made their way to the training grounds.

"Thanks a lot for paying. I don't know what I would do without you Sakura-Chan."

"Washed dishes?" Sakura said jokingly. Somehow, around Naruto, she felt free. He had that kind of effect on other people. She was able to smile, laugh, and be her true self. He made her forget everything; that's why, to her, he was her brother.

"Haha! Very funny Sakura." Naruto said sarcastically. "Let's spar!" Naruto said enthusiastically. "I know you have to be a lot stronger and I want to see just how strong, but don't let your guard down. I'm much stronger too. Pervy Sage actually managed to teach me something all these years."

"You mean he actually knows something else beside how to spy on women?"

"It's unbelievable, I know, but it's true."

Suddenly, as they arrived on the training grounds, they stopped dead on their tracks. Standing in the middle of the field stood Kakashi, awaiting their arrival.

Lowering down his famous _Icha Icha _book from his face and putting it in his back pocket, he walked toward the two members of Team Seven. "I'm glad you are here. I have news."

"What is it Kakashi Sensei?" Naruto queried immediately.

Sakura, on the other hand, just went back to being cold and emotionless.

"Well, seeing as all of the members of the team are back together and you all have been doing a horrible job at working together like a team, you will have to take the bell test again." The silver haired Jonin explained.

"What? But we already passed that dumb bell test." Naruto began complaining as soon as Kakashi was done talking.

"Did you not hear me? I just explained why you are doing it again."

"What happens if we don't pass it?" Sakura questioned quiet interested in the answer, seeing as they couldn't work as a team.

"Curious aren't we?" Kakashi turned his attention to the pink-haired kunoichi. "Don't worry. You'll find out tomorrow. For now, rest up for tomorrow because one thing is for sure; it won't be as easy as it was last time so pass the message along to Sasuke, will you?" He said, the last part sounding harsh and threatening.

Not wanting to hear more complaints from the blond ninja, Kakashi left in a puff of smoke, his book already in his hand.

"Well, there go our plans for sparring." Sakura said as if bored.

"We can still do it you know. The test isn't until tomorrow." Naruto countered.

"Yeah, but I'd rather not be tired from today tomorrow." Sakura said as she left.

* * *

As Sakura arrived at the Uchiha mansion, she was debating weather she should go stay somewhere else while the problem this morning was forgotten. Stubborn as she was, she decided to go in. What had happened had not been her fault so why hesitate.

Then she remembered she had no key. Ready to wait at the doorstep like the day before, she walked toward the door, but noticed it was open.

Right away, Sakura decided to go to her room. On her way, she saw the door to Sasuke's room open. Unsuccessful at fighting temptation, Sakura took a small peek inside. Instantly she would have turned away so Sasuke would not catch her, but she saw him sleeping there.

He would have looked peaceful if it wasn't for the pain from Sakura's punch. _'Maybe I over did it.'_ Sakura's conscience kicked in. She was no heartless monster so she decided to try and heal him.

In his sleep, Sasuke clutched his stomach trying to control the pain shooting throughout his body, but nothing he did was successful.

Sakura walked quietly toward him, one hand glowing green with chakra to ease the pain where she had made impact. Knowing she had to, Sakura unbuttoned his shirt to see how bad the injury was. At once, she grimaced. There was a huge, purple fist mark on his stomach. Sakura decided to heal it at once, but decided to leave at least a small mark on him to remind him of what could happen if he tried anything funny again.

Not wanting to stare at his well-toned abs any longer, Sakura decided to get out of Sasuke's room before he awoke.

"Sakura… thank-you." Sasuke's usual stoic voice made Sakura stop instantaneously.

Sakura left his room feeling a like she had accomplished something. She had heard Sasuke thank her for something she had done. Little did she know that Sasuke said what he said because he was dreaming about the time he left the Leaf Village.

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**Comments, questions, concerns? Please review!**

**REVIEW!!!**

*******What should be Sasuke's, Sakura's, and Naruto's punishment if they don't pass the bell test? (I have an idea for next chapter but your ideas are definitely welcomed)**

**A. Go back to the academy**

**B. Nothing**

**C. Split the team up (I'd rather not)**

**D. One day of Kakashi torture (ideas please)**

**E. Something else (please tell me what it could be in a review)**

**_Review!!!!!! ….please!_**

**....~...**

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	34. Lost Innocence, Found Identity

**Ok. First of all, I want to apologize for not updating this in sooooooooooo long. If you are reading this, that means that after all this time you are still interested in this story and are a true loyal fan of it. (Thank you!) Again I'm sorry for the long wait. School, life, and a lot of drama got in the way. I was also having a HUGE writer's block due to the fact that Sasuke (whom I had really liked) is acting like a douche bag in the manga. Hopefully, he changes soon or I'm going to be angry with Masashi Kishimoto.**

**Please ignore any grammatical mistakes!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. **

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_Thoughts_

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**Summary of what has previously happened (since it's been sooo long)**

Sasuke along with sound attacked the Konoha. Feeling weak and unable to defend her home, Sakura faked her own death. Meanwhile Naruto returned from his training with Jiraiya. Sasuke also returned to the village and, giving a few good reasons, was allowed to live.

The Village Hidden Among the Stones requested a shinobi exchange and the mysterious Saiyuki Chihiro joined the incomplete squad 7. After a mission, it was discovered that Saiyuki was Sakura who had Orochimaru's curse mark, which deprived her of her emotions, gave her power, and forced her to do things for Orochimaru.

Once Konoha's village Elders found out, they imprisoned Sakura, but Tsunade wasn't about to let her stay in prison so she forced Sasuke to fake date her so that the Village Elders would let her go (they had previously promised Sasuke he could chose the person whom he'd restore his clan with).

Trying to better their teamwork, Kakashi suggested that Sakura, Sasuke, and Naruto take the bell test once again, but this time it would be much more difficult.

Determined to break Sakura's strong façade, Sasuke kissed her but the kunoichi would not be easily broken so she gathered chakra into her fist and punch Sasuke…which (I think) brings us to this new chapter.

**End of Summary**

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When Sasuke awoke early in the morning, he was expecting a pain that would knock the breath out of him. He readied himself for it… but nothing. There was merely a small tingling sensation where the throbbing should have originated.

Bewildered, Sasuke looked at his body where Sakura had punched him. There was nothing. Nothing besides a very small mark.

Knowing he couldn't have healed up that fast, he surmised it had to have been Sakura. Then a critical question ran through his mind. _Why? Why would she heal me?_

Knock. Knock. A loud knocking noise interrupted Sasuke's thoughts. He was already exiting his room, but he spotted Sakura opening the front door for the early, unwanted visitors._ Not them again…_

* * *

He was ready. No, he was far more than ready. Naruto felt like taking on the whole wide world just to prove himself to all those who looked down upon him. Everyone would see just how great of a shinobi he could really be. This 'bell test' was going to be a breeze. Kakashi would begin the chain reaction- he would see how strong he was and then spread the news to the entire village.

Excited about the upcoming events, Naruto had barely been able to sleep at all. Because of this, he had awakened extra early and made his way to the training grounds to wait for everyone else to arrive.

At the training grounds he waited… and waited….and waited some more. However, because he had arrived too early, he would have to wait more.

* * *

"Look Sasuke-kun, you have visitors," Sakura said signaling to a group of obsessed fangirls standing in the doorway.

"Hn." Sasuke grunted as he came out of his room to meet the visitors with a stoic look on his face. _Great just what I needed._

"Sasuke-kun," one of the fangirls began. "We are here to confirm the rumors. Is it true that you are…with her?" she asked while giving Sakura a disgusted look.

The look did not go unnoticed by Sakura. Furious, yet not showing it, at the lack of respect, Sakura answered for the quiet Uchiha. "What does it look like? I **am** living here."

"You have to be faking!" Another fangirl accused.

"Would a person faking do this?" Sakura asked as she walked toward Sasuke.

She had come too far to back down now. Pushing her chances, she got on her tiptoes, clutched her arms around his neck, and locked her mouth with his feverishly. Sasuke froze, completely taken by surprise by her actions. What took her by surprise was what he did next. Instead of pushing her way, like she had imagined, he returned the embrace and began kissing her back. His arms went around her petite waist and she couldn't help but mold her body against his to make everything more believable. Fervently, they held that pose for a couple of seconds.

Without breaking their position, Sakura managed to close the door on their faces and finally break away from the Uchiha prodigy.

"You are so inexperienced," Sasuke told Sakura mockingly.

"What?" Sakura said enraged. "I was trying to get your fan club away from here and this is how you repay me? By insulting me?"

"I'm just saying…"

"Oh yea? Well, if you are such an expert, why don't you teach me?" Sakura challenged as she once again moved toward the Uchiha.

"Hn. I'd rather not get punched by your monstrous strength again."

"I won't do it." Sakura said, mere centimeters away from him.

Before Sakura could react, she found her back pinned to the wall and Sasuke's lips on hers. Her eyes were wide open in astonishment. She didn't actually think that Sasuke was actually going to call her bluff. Once again, she felt that part deep within herself trying to destroy the strong fort which kept her feelings sealed off. There was also that part of her that was too afraid to let her guard down. The part that was afraid to feel love toward someone who would probably never lover her.

Sasuke didn't know himself what he was doing. At first, he wanted call her bluff; show her that she was still weak compared to him. It was a rough kiss which merely showed her who was dominant. This meant nothing to him…or so he thought. But then why, did Sakura's opinion of him matter so much. Why did he seem to miss that childish optimism and naïve cheerfulness? This was beyond his comprehension. He was beginning to experience feeling which he hadn't felt before. Eventually, seeing as Sakura was not moving away, he finally stepped back ready for her reaction.

Sakura's first instinct was to spit and wipe her mouth exaggeratedly. "See that was nothing," Sakura boasted. Her strong façade obvious, but even she knew that there was something that made that act more significant than they would admit. Deep inside herself, he knew that little by little she was beginning to break on the inside thanks to the Uchiha even if she wouldn't admit it. She looked toward Sasuke and expected him to be doing the same but instead he walked to his room saying nothing.

Sakura went into her respective room to change so they could make their way to the training grounds where the dreaded bell test awaited them.

* * *

Keeping their distance, Sasuke and Sakura made their way to their usual meeting place. When they arrived, they were surprised to see Kakashi already waiting for them, book in hand.

"Well look who decided to join us Naruto," Kakashi said raising his visible eye from his book. "I thought you two would be too busy to doing _other_ things to actually come."

"The things you read in your dirty books don't apply to us Sensei," Sakura said coldly trying her best to hold herself from blushing remembering what had happened earlier.

"Right…" Closing his book, Kakashi became serious. "Well, we were going to do the bell test, but we have a change of plans. We have been given a mission. It's nothing too complicated…just to escort a man to his village. Hm…sounds like one of our first missions." Kakashi said while reading from a scroll. "Well, we are supposed to meet at the gates in about thirty minutes. See ya." Poof_!_

* * *

Time had passed. All members of squad seven were ready for their departure. Neither spoke.

Eventually, in the distance, they saw their sensei approaching with an all too familiar man, Tazuna the bridge builder from their younger years along with Inari.

"HEY! It's you guys!" Naruto exclaimed. "Wow! You look exactly the same as before."

"You haven't changed much either, Naruto," Inari said to the boy he looked up to ever since the time they defeated Gato and his men.

"I can't believe it's you guys again!" Naruto smiled happily. "Wait…Is your village being attacked again? Am I going save you guys for a second time?"

"No! no no no no no!" Tazuna interrupted nervously. Kakashi raised an eyebrow curiously. "We just wanted some company on the way back home and since we hadn't seen you guys in a while, we thought we'd just request to have your squad with us. It's lucky for us that you weren't busy or anything. Tsunami is going to cook a big dinner for us all so we better get moving!"

"Right! It's not like our village is under at-" Tazuna ran over to Inari and covered his mouth.

"Silly Grandson! Don't jinx us." Tazuna and Inari both smiled.

"Hm." Kakashi eyed them suspiciously.

"Then let's go! I can't wait for this food. Old man it better be all you can eat!" Naruto said as he walked out of the village gates ahead of everyone else.

Sakura, Sasuke, Kakashi, Tazuna, and Inari followed the hyperactive blond not saying much. Sasuke and Sakura tried to keep their distance, but both their minds kept drifting to what had happened that morning. Both their eyes kept drifting to the other and when they would meet, they would turn the other way. This patter kept on going for a while until Kakashi noticed. With a sneaky look on his eye, Kakashi stuck one of his feet out and the oblivious Sakura who tripped and fell.

Caught by surprise, Sakura fell on top of Sasuke who had been in a little ahead and had looked back to see what had happened. Both wanted to blush furiously, but being the stubborn ninja they were and wanting to prove to the other that they were strong, they didn't. They merely looked at each other with cold eyes.

_This is just like chapter two of Icha Icha Paradise in which both protagonists are afraid to fall in love with each other due to the fact that they don't want their enemies finding out their weaknesses. But one day both can no longer keep their feelings silent and they have a long romantic night full of emotion and passion, _Kakashi thought excitedly. _It's like I'm seem my favorite book live right in front of my eyes!_

"Are you okay?" Kakashi offered a helping hand to hide the fact that he had tripped Sakura on purpose. Sakura took his hand and immediately turned away from them all. All of this time, she wanted to look strong but she had just made herself look like a fool.

She looked around, trying to see what had tripped her but found nothing. '_Great I'm tripping over flat surfaces.' _

"If you keep being that clumsy, you will end up making us fail the mission," Sasuke glared.

"How can we fail a simple escort mission?" Sakura scowled. "We just-"

She was cut off as a kunai grazed her right cheek. Crimson blood oozed slowly down her cheek as the kunai landed on the ground and two mysterious ninja appeared before them. Before anyone had time to react, all but Sasuke and Sakura were held within a barrier.

"Takeo take care of the boy. I'll take care of the girl."

"Sure thing Satoshi," the one called Takeo agreed.

"What's going on?" Sakura asked the threatening ninja before them with a sharp glare on her face.

"Don't worry about it, Pinky. It doesn't matter. You're going to die anyway!" Satoshi said as he punched Sakura in the stomach.

Poof!

"A substitution jutsu!" he whispered to himself surprised as a log appeared in front of him.

"Correct!" Sakura said as she jumped out from a tree with a chakra infused fist. Her fist made contact with the man's face and he was sent flying a few feet away. Sakura smirked thinking that would keep him down at least for a few seconds. Before she realized it, ninja threads encircled her and had her tied to a tree.

"You little brat! Look what you did to my face," Satoshi complained as he showed Sakura his bruised cheek.

"Are you mad that they don't match? Your cheeks, I mean," Sakura taunted with a smirk on her face. "Let me help you." With ease, Sakura used her super human strength and broke the ninja thread and was free. Once again, Sakura gathered chakra on her fist and with more force punched the Satoshi on the other side of his face.

She grabbed a kunai from her pouch and ran toward him. With one hand she lifted him by the collar and with the other she held the kunai dangerously close to his throat. "Release the barrier." Sakura demanded, venom dripping from her voice.

"No." *Cough* Satoshi coughed blood out. "If you want them free, kill me."

Sakura froze. "What are you saying? Do you not care about your life?"

The ninja grinned evilly. "Don't tell me you've never taken a life? Is that it? Are you nervous?" He toyed with Sakura's mind.

Truth be told, Sakura had never taken a life. She felt like once she killed someone, she would lose herself in the impurity of the ninja world they lived in. Yes, she had to admit to herself that perhaps she had killed while working under Orochimaru, but she wasn't herself back then. She would never do it consciously. Medics were supposed to do all they could to prevent deaths not cause them.

"Shut up!" Sakura spat out as she threw him against the ground.

"Hehe…You are weak."

"Shut up. Shut up! SHUT UP!" Sakura yelled as her temper boiled after hearing the words she despised the most. Those words that haunted her and she ran away from. Before she knew what she was doing, Sakura lost control. She gathered an incredible amount of chakra and punched him on the chest, breaking his ribs and many vital organs. It didn't take long for Satoshi to die.

"SATOSHI!"

* * *

**Sasuke's fight scene**

"Takeo take care of the boy. I'll take care of the girl."

"Sure thing Satoshi," the one called Takeo agreed.

Sasuke stared at the man named Takeo uninterested. It seemed like history was somewhat repeating itself, except that he was much stronger and these ninja stood no chance against them. _'Even Sakura can take care of these losers single-handedly. Well, I don't want her boasting about how I did nothing. I better take care of this guy.'_

Before Takeo was able to get ready to fight, Sasuke appeared behind him. "Shishi Rendan (Lion's Barage)!"

"Ugh!" Takeo lay on the ground unable to move. Time passed. The foolish ninja seemed knocked out.

'_This guy is such a loser.' _Sasuke stood in place, sweat dropping, disappointed with his opponent.

Takeo stood up after a while. Grabbing his stomach, he ran toward Sasuke, a katana in his hand. "You let your guard down!" he yelled. Unconsciously, he looked to his right. The sight his eyes met horrified him. The pink haired kunoichi had killed his brother Satoshi. "SATOSHI!" he yelled aghast. Wanting to revenge his fallen brother, he ran toward the kunoichi with murderous intent.

'_Sakura!'_ Sasuke thought of only the pink-haired girl as he ran to stop the lunatic. _'No! I won't make it in time to fend him off.'_

"Sakura!"

* * *

Sakura was in a daze. She looked at her blood covered hands with wide eyes and began trembling. _'What have I done?'_

"Sakura!" she heard someone scream her name. Slowly, she turned to see who was calling her. The other ninja who had been with the one called Satoshi was running toward her aiming to take her down. Sakura had no time to think of what to do. Everything was going too fast. Before she could even react, she saw the man's katana close enough to strike her down. She shut her eyes instinctively to await her demise, but it never came.

Blood splattered all over her; except it wasn't hers. She didn't feel pain so it couldn't be hers. She opened her eyes.

Sasuke was inches from her. His face close to hers; his back to the enemy. Sasuke looked weak, about to collapse on top of her. "Why?" Sakura managed to whisper to him. Looking past him, she saw the vengeful ninja had struck Sasuke instead of her. He had protected her.

"You should see the look on your face." Sasuke smirked as if he had achieved to beat her at their tough act contest. "That's no way for a shinobi to look."

"Why?" Sakura choked out again.

"He was my opponent not yours," he lied.

"I should have gotten what I deserved."

"Hn." Unable to stand anymore, Sasuke fell on Sakura's arms unconscious.

The barrier jutsu that had held Kakashi, Naruto, Tazuna, and Inari finally fell. Takeo wasn't dumb; he knew when he was outnumbered so he began to run away. Naruto tried to follow.

Kakashi looked at the motionless Sasuke in Sakura's arms. "Shouldn't you be healing him?" Kakashi asked gently. Sakura nodded but was still in shock.

Green, soothing chakra began emitting out Sakura's hands. After a what seemed like an eternity, Naruto came back with bad news. Takeo had gotten away.

"I've done all I can," Sakura said softly keeping her eyes down afraid to look at her sensei. "All Sasuke needs is rest now."

Kakashi nodded and lifted the comatose Sasuke. "Well, Tazuna how about we go to your place and on the way you can explain what's going on?"

*Sigh* "It all started recently. A man who claimed to be the son of Gato came to our village claiming to wanted revenge. He has consistently made attacks and tried to destroy the bridge. Up till now, nothing too serious has occurred but we were afraid so we decided to hire shinobi from the Leaf. The problem was that our village hasn't fully recuperated so we didn't have enough money to admit this might be a high ranked mission. Knowing you guys wouldn't abandon us in our time of need, we requested your team," Tazuna explained. "I had no idea this would happen." He said as he looked at Sasuke.

*Sigh* "What have we gotten ourselves into again?" Kakashi mumbled.

* * *

A few hours had passed since the event. They were now in Tazuna and Inari's home resting up for the next day so they would begin their investigation on this 'son of Gato.'

It was night. Everyone was fast asleep. Sakura, though, sat outside in the deck looking at the cloud covered sky pondering the days events. The cool wind blew through her pink locks of hair, but she paid no attention. She hadn't said a word to anyone not even Naruto.

Absorbed in her thoughts, Sakura did not realize Sasuke had awoken and was standing behind her. The clouds covering the sky cleared and the moon shone brightly creating Sasuke's shadow.

Noticing the shadow, Sakura turned around. Emerald eyes met with onyx. They looked at each other without saying a word until Sakura finally turned away afraid to confront him. Sasuke sat down beside her.

"I'm sorry," Sakura finally whispered.

"It wasn't your fault," Sasuke said at the same time.

"Yes it was. If I would have been able to control myself, you wouldn't have gotten hurt." Her voice began to quiver at the end. "It's just that…"

"It was my fault. I should have defeated him when I had the chance."

"It's just that…I've tried so hard to be strong. To be strong for you but I can't." At last, the tears that Sakura had been holding in began to roll down her cheeks. "All I ever wanted was for you to acknowledge me so that you wouldn't think I'm just a weak, annoying burden, but no matter what I try, I can't." Sakura sobbed. She tried to wipe the traitorous tears away but it was no use more took the place of the ones she would get rid of.

Unwillingly, Sakura began crying uncontrollably. That was the night that Haruno Sakura finally broke her strong façade. At first it was because she was finally letting all of her emotions free, but then it was just anger. All this time, she had acted strong in front of him so that he wouldn't think so low of her and in a matter of seconds it was all falling apart.

Sasuke sat watching the fragile-looking girl weep not knowing what to do. He wasn't used to this sort of stuff.

"I'm so weak, aren't I?" Sakura choked out.

On a whim, Sasuke hugged the broken, depressed kunoichi. "Real strength comes from being able to admit one's flaws. That is your real strength-your real self Sakura."

* * *

**What did you think?**

**I'm not sure when the next chapter will be out. I apologize in advance if it's a long time from now. I'll try to do it as soon as possible if I get enough inspiration (reviews).**

**Questions? Comments? Concerns? Suggestions?**

**Please review! I'm not lying when I say that makes me really really happy. Thanks!**


	35. Bonds are Never Trully Broken

**This is officially the longest chapter of Gone! I would have totally had this earlier but when I wrote it down on my journal, it seemed like it was a lot. Then when I typed it, it was a really short chapter so I knew I had to write more. Then I kept on writing and I didn't stop so it got kind of long. **

**Also, I have to say, I was sort of disappointed with the number of reviews for the last chapter. :(**

**Please ignore any grammatical mistakes!**

**Disclaimer: Itachi is awesome. End of story. …also I don't own Naruto.**

* * *

_Thoughts_

* * *

**Recap:**

"All I ever wanted was for you to acknowledge me so that you wouldn't think I'm just a weak, annoying burden, but no matter what I try, I can't." Sakura sobbed. She tried to wipe the traitorous tears away but it was no use, more took the place of the ones she would get rid of.

Unwillingly, Sakura began crying uncontrollably. That was the night that Haruno Sakura finally broke her strong façade. At first, it was because she was finally letting all of her emotions free, but then it was just anger. All this time, she had acted strong in front of him so that he wouldn't think so low of her and in a matter of seconds, it was all falling apart.

Sasuke sat watching the fragile-looking girl weep not knowing what to do. He wasn't used to this sort of stuff.

"I'm so weak, aren't I?" Sakura choked out.

On a whim, Sasuke hugged the broken, depressed kunoichi. "Real strength comes from being able to admit one's flaws. That is your real strength-your real self Sakura."

**End of Recap.**

* * *

When had this happened? How had she done it? These questions were all a mystery to him. Uchiha Sasuke was completely and utterly confused as to how Sakura had now become an important, inseparable part of his life. It had all started as a game- a test to see who would break first. Now, here was Sakura crying in his arms, but then, why did he feel like he was the one that had lost?

Even now, he didn't get it but in a weird way, he sort of did; he just didn't want to admit it even to himself. Anyway, one thing was for sure, it was something that was changing his life, but in a way, nothing was changing at all for this feeling had always been within him buried deep down. Yes, it was weird. The kind of weird that could happen to anyone, but he couldn't help but be surprised that it had happened to him now, when he least expected it.

Sasuke kept telling himself that he didn't have any feeling s for the kunoichi. He couldn't have any feelings toward her. Rather, he didn't want to because he had suffered too much in the past because of the bonds he once held. But his heart was betraying him. Reforming bonds that were irrevocable. Was it love? He had to admit, he acknowledged her strength and she wasn't bad looking either but was that enough to be called love?

He became angry, not with Sakura but at himself. When had he let his guard down? Why had he? For so long, he had worked on shutting people out so that he wouldn't feel anything. Now, his past was catching up to him. Haruno Sakura was changing him unknowingly.

The confused Uchiha looked down at Sakura whom he had unconsciously embraced to comfort. Tears were beginning to dampen his shirt as they fell from her emerald eyes and he couldn't help but feel that he was at fault for the years that he had caused her pain.

'I tried to be strong all this time for you.' Sakura's words rang through his head. '_Why? I didn't ask her to._' Sasuke disputed.

Not wanting to get carried away, Sasuke softly pushed Sakura away from his chest. Sakura looked at him as if pleading him to stay with her. Silently, Sasuke stood up and went inside Tazuna's house, leaving Sakura alone. Tired, Sakura followed soon afterward only to lay awake in bed trying to sort through her thoughts and feelings.

* * *

From then, Sasuke and Sakura were no longer to avoid themselves or be as cold to each other as they had previously been. Things were changing for them. Slowly but surely, they were becoming accustomed to each other and they were allowing the other to slip into their well protected heart. The day had started like any other. Sakura, having slept late at night, had slept in accidentally. Knowing that the enemy would not attack so early, Kakashi decided to let her sleep in and just guard Tazuna while he made some modifications to the bridge along with Sasuke and Naruto.

"Wow! The Great Naruto Bridge?" Naruto awed as he learned the name of the bridge he had guarded while it was built. He had to admit, he felt great knowing that once he was gone, he would be remembered through this bridge.

Time passed it was almost noon and nothing had yet occurred. The male members of Squad Seven were beginning to think the guy who had attacked them the day before had been part of the attack group Tazuna had warned them about and that once he had seen their strength had reconsidered attacking. It truly seemed that way until…

Thud! "Well, well if it isn't the brats from yesterday. Except, you are missing the pink-haired bitch. Oh wait! Here she is!" Takeo said with a smirk on his face.

As he said his last sentence, he pulled on a rope and from behind him Sakura came tumbling down, eyes bandaged unable to see, hands and feet tied, and mouth tied making her unable to yell for help.

"I captured your teammate. Now, surrender the bridge builder to us or this brat gets it." '_Not that she will survive anyway.' _Takeo thought to himself the last part of his plan.

Kakashi, Naruto, and Sasuke looked at him surprised. When had they captured Sakura? Where there more of his allies hiding, surrounding them? They all got on their guards.

"Don't you care what happens to her? I suppose you won't mind if I do this then!" The ninja walked toward Sakura and grabbed her by the hair. Sakura let out an inaudible moan of pain. Takeo unsheathed his katana and placed it dangerously close to the defenseless kunoichi.

The members of Team Seven Didn't know what didn't know what to do. What could they do? It was either Sakura their teammate or Tazuna the bridge builder.

"What will it be?" Takeo demanded to know as the blade began to pierce Sakura's skin. He grew impatient. "I guess you don't care about her!" he exclaimed as he slashed through Sakura's neck. The lifeless body fell numbly to the ground. Poof!

"What!"

Out from the shadows, the real Sakura came out with a chakra infused fist. "Take this!" Sakura yelled as her fist made impact with the man who could have killed her.

"Sakura! You're okay! But how?" Naruto yelled happily in the distance running toward her.

"Hn." Sasuke smirked as if he had seen this coming all along. He knew that Sakura wasn't as weak as to let the enemy capture her.

"Phew!" Kakashi said relieved that a comrade did not just meet her end.

**Flashback:**

"Yawn! Hm…?" Sakura looked around the house. On the table, she found a note addressed to her.

Sakura, we didn't want to awake you since you looked so peaceful. Your team went to the bridge along with Tazuna. Inari and I are going to town to run a few errands. Feel free to help yourself with whatever you need.

~Tsunami

Sakura sweat-dropped. '_I can't believe I overslept._' Putting the note away, Sakura went to gather her things in order to go meet her team at the bridge.

She suddenly heard some voices outside. She listened quietly.

"So this is the house you say?" a familiar voice said.

"Yeah." Another masculine voice answered. "The daughter and grandson should be in there. We will use them as bait. Now hurry up and go get them."

"Right."

Sakura looked outside through a small peephole in the window's curtain. Immediately, she recognized Takeo, but the other man remained a mystery to her. '_They are here for Inari and Tsunami.'_ Sakura thought. _'I need a plan. I have to figure out what they are really after.'_ With a determined look on her face, Sakura made some hand signs and created a clone of herself. Instantly, she masked her chakra so that only the clone's chakra would be noticeable.

"Go act like you don't know anything and get caught. I'll follow close by and hopefully find out some useful information," Sakura quietly instructed. Quietly, she hid herself in a pile of junk.

Sakura's clone went into the kitchen for a snack, acting like she knew nothing at all like she had been instructed. She grabbed a glass of juice. Soon afterwards, Takeo appeared mere inches away from the Sakura clone with his katana unsheathed and pointing it precariously at her.

The clone stared at the intruder wide-eyed. She dropped the glass of juice she had held on one hand to seem more surprised. Slowly, she took a few steps back as if trying to run away.

"Don't move bitch unless you have a death wish," he ordered.

Obediently, the clone complied. Takeo took a along rope and tied Sakura's hands. Then, covered her eyes and mouth. Once finished Takeo dragged the Sakura clone behind him.

"Boss, I got something better than the lady or kid. I got the kunoichi who killed Satoshi. Surely, her teammates will trade the bridge builder who means nothing to them for their teammate."

"Hm…" The mystery man merely observed as if strategizing.

After that, the real Sakura followed them from the shadows, hoping to hear something of value, but they didn't say anything worth her time.

**End of flashback**

Sakura suddenly felt a powerful chakra behind her. It felt like the chakra of the other guy but much more deadly.

"I knew it was too easy for the girl to be capture especially if she is to be called a kunoichi of the Leaf, but I guess the idiot didn't realize it," he said referring to Takeo. "Figures that if you want t a job well done, you have to do it yourself."

Sakura turned around to come face to face with her opponent whom she had failed to realize had gotten so close to her. Before she had time to move away from him, she felt the man hit one of her pressure points and her body to fell numb. The man's well-built arm made contact with her chest with so much force that she was sent flying off the bridge and she fell into the deep water.

"Sasuke, Naruto! Be on guard. This guys is on a whole other level than the other," Kakashi warned as he saw him easily get rid of Sakura. "Naruto go help Sakura. Sasuke you help m…" Kakashi wasn't able to finish when Sasuke ran past his team and dove into the water after Sakura.

Meanwhile, little by little, Sakura was sinking deeper and she was losing her breath. Feeling numb, she was unable to swim up. She was expecting Naruto to rush after her, but she was surprised to see Sasuke swimming after her. Somehow, fate was pitting them together at every change it got and they weren't able to stop it.

Her vision began to blur gradually to the point that she didn't notice when Sasuke had gotten so close to her until he felt his arm go around her waist and pull her out of the water. Once out, she gasped for air as she clasped to Sasuke's shirt for fear that she would once again fall in.

Sasuke swam out of the vast waters while holding on to Sakura's petite waist. When they were on top of the bridge again instead of under it, he set Sakura down and looked toward the direction in which Naruto and Kakashi were fighting.

Sakura looked in that direction also. Nostalgia overwhelmed her as she remembered the last time they had been here. Last time, she hadn't helped much and it would be the same this time. Nothing had changed, it appeared to her. She looked at Sasuke. _'Any moment he will go make himself useful and I'll be the only useless one.'_

Sasuke saw the look on her face full of pity and anger at the same time so, contrary to her believes, Sasuke took a seat beside Sakura and just watched the other two shinobi fight.

"Aren't you going to help them?" Sakura question him.

"Hn. The guys is dealing with the copy ninja Kakashi and Naruto who was trained by one of the Legendary Sannin. I doubt they will need help," Sasuke explained reluctantly. He turned away from her and tried to avoid even glancing at her. He didn't want what had happened yesterday to come up.

Having Sasuke by her side, she immediately didn't feel so useless. What he had said was true. Besides, she had already helped some. It was strange; she felt comforted by his presence but she didn't want to say anything to him. She felt like she couldn't especially with what had happened the day before.

Yes, Sasuke and Sakura were both trying to deny the feelings that were beginning to resurface. They thought that by avoiding talking about it, they would go away, but they would eventually understand how wrong they were.

They examined the fight. Blow after blow, jutsu after jutsu, Kakashi and Naruto fought on. Time passed and before they knew it, they won the battle. **(A/N: I'm really sorry but I didn't want to have a feeble attempt at a fight scene so I just decided to skip. Sorry.)**

* * *

A few days had passed since the fight. Things seemed to be going pretty smoothly for the land of Waves. Team Seven had arrived at the conclusion that they were no longer needed so they had decided to head home for much needed rest.

Nobody said much on the way home partly because they were tired and partly because they didn't have anything to say. Before they knew it, they arrived at the village gates late one evening. Without delay, Kakashi said that he needed to make a report to Tsunade about the mission. Naruto began to say how he wanted some Ramen and invited Sakura and Sasuke to tag along. They both declined the offer. Sasuke said that he wanted to go home to rest and Sakura lectured him on how eating Ramen all the time wasn't good for any of them.

Indignantly, Naruto walked off to get his Ramen hoping to meet up with a certain somebody along the way.

That left Sasuke and Sakura. They walked quietly to the Uchiha compound side by side. The walk there was awkward for both wanted to say something but had nothing to say. Rather, they had things to say but they didn't want to say them for fear of showing too much emotions. Even the Uchiha, who thought he could always keep his cool demeanor, wasn't sure about it this time.

"Sasuke, about the other night…" Sakura said almost inaudibly. She finally got the courage to talk about it as they were going inside the house. Even if she hated to admit it, she had to face reality eventually. She was afraid; afraid of loving Sasuke again and being rejected but she couldn't just keep this to herself. There was also that possibility that he would once again leave to find his brother Itachi and forget all about her.

"Hn. Nothing of importance occurred. Forget it ever happened," Sasuke said coldly.

"I meant it!" Sakura said more audibly. Her eyes shone brightly as if she was hoping that he would finally admit to her that he actually cared. "I-"

She was cut off by Sasuke. "I said forget it," he growled. He didn't want to talk about. He didn't want to think about it. He was afraid that the feelings he had felt that night would resurface. Those feeling that he was trying to erase. The truth was that the ice surrounding his heart was beginning to melt away by the warmth Sakura was offering him. He didn't want that. Not now.

"But-"

Sakura wasn't able to finish talking when Sasuke walked off on her and went to his room shutting the door behind him.

* * *

As Naruto walked through the streets of the Leaf Village, his eyes wondered all around. To be accurate, he was trying to spot a certain lavender eyed, shy girl. It was difficult for him to explain, especially since he could be so dense and naïve sometimes, but when he was around this particular girl, he felt comfortable, like he belonged with her.

Tired and hungry, Naruto headed to Ichiraku's Ramen Shop hoping to see her along the way. He was about to reach his favorite food place and he still hadn't spotted her. Yet, he felt like she was close. He looked around. Up. Down. Right. Left. Until he spotted the all too familiar chakra masked sloppily as if its owner was trying to be seen.

"Hi Hinata!" Naruto smiled widely as he ran toward her.

Hinata blushed. "Na-Naruto, I heard you were back," She managed to choke out without stuttering much as she saw the blond running toward her.

"Hey want to go get some Ramen with me?" he asked eager for a yes.

Hinata gulped. "Well…" She looked around as if she was trying to hide from someone. "Sure," she finally answered, a smile forming on her lips.

On the way, both Naruto and Hinata were silent. It wasn't the kind of silence that was uncomfortable though. It was a comforting silence in which they found peace and just appreciated each other's company.

Once they arrived, Naruto began the conversation. "Guess what? There's a bridge named after me! The Great Naruto Bridge!" Naruto boasted as he waited for his Ramen to be served.

"That's great Naruto," she said happily. She was cheerful, glad to be with the one she admired even if it was just for a little bit. She couldn't afford to let her father find her with Naruto.

All through the meal, Naruto told her about their mission and about how he had fought the shinobi whom threatened the Land of Waves but was now safe because of him. Hinata, on the other hand, just listened intently. Little by little, her admiration toward him growing if at all possible.

"So Hinata how's your team? Kiba and Shino?" Naruto asked.

"We haven't been to busy lately. Kurenai Sensei spends most of her time resting so that her son will be healthy when he is born," Hinata explained. "Because of that, our team doesn't get many missions and when we do, they aren't too difficult since we don't have Sensei with us."

"You should come with us on a mission!" Naruto suggested.

Hinata grew pale at the though. She thought of Sasuke, the Uchiha prodigy. There was no way she could ever keep up with him or Naruto she thought. Even Sakura had become a lot stronger and she didn't know how she compared to her. To be safe, she would just rather not get tangled with Squad Seven and just stay with her Squad.

It was really late when Naruto and Hinata were leaving Ichiraku's place. Time flew by so fast when they were together talking about missions, dreams, or just plain nonsense.

On the way home, Naruto was going to walk Hinata home but he abruptly remembered the last time he had done so. Hyuuga Hiashi had not approved. To avoid any conflicts, Naruto decided to part their own ways half way through.

"Hinata?" Naruto called her attention looking down instead of at her.

"Yes? Naruto?" she responded.

"Goodnight," he said softly as he lightly kissed her on the forehead and ran off toward his house.

Hinata stood immobile for some time. She was shocked at what had just happened. It had all happened so fast and her mind was still trying to register what had happened. She fell back dazed. This was all too much for her. She wanted to pass out, but she couldn't just lay there in the dark so she had to muster all of energy to at least make it home.

* * *

The next day Sakura awoke extra early. She had been called the night before by Tsunade to inform her that she would be resuming her job at the hospital once again. Not wanting to go on an empty stomach, she had awoken earlier than need be so she would have time to have some breakfast.

As she was finishing preparing the dishes, out of the corner of her eyes she saw Sasuke making his way to the kitchen. Remembering about the conversation, if it could even be considered that, she tried to go back to acting tough and cold like him. There was no use in being nice to him if he was going to be the same way toward her anyway.

"I made some breakfast. Feel free to help yourself." Sakura said stoically.

"Not hungry," Sasuke said matching her coldness toward him.

"That's weird because usually when people come to the kitchen, it's to eat." Sakura retorted.

Sasuke was at a lack of words. She was right. The only reason he had said that was because he was trying to avoid Sakura and coming to the kitchen had been the wrong way to go. He had realized she was in there too late.

"If you are going to act like a jerk, I better be on my way," Sakura told him coldly. She wrapped her plate of food and put it in the refrigerator. On her way out the door, Sakura tried to give him a cold look to show him that she was still as strong as ever and that he wasn't that important to her, but her eyes betrayed her. For they were filled with sorrow and rejection.

* * *

Work was a drag. It was a slow day at the Konoha Hospital. Nothing much happened and there wasn't much to do. Sakura was stuck in her little office most of the day so she began to move things around to suit her needs.

"Well, well the rumors are true. You are working here again, Forehead," Ino greeted as she let herself in.

"What do you want Ino pig?" Sakura said without much emotion.

"Just here to check on you. Hope you are settling in fine. How's your dainty little office? Does it meet your standards, oh great one?" Ino taunted playfully.

Sakura rolled her eyes. Did it really matter what she thought?

"So how's living with the Great Uchiha? I've heard quite a few nasty rumors. One of them being that you two have already gotten busy. Here you were saying you hated him but now it seems otherwise," she said, meaning that rumors about them sleeping together were circulating around Konoha. Ino smirked. "So is it true?"

"What? No!" Sakura couldn't help but blush a little. She couldn't believe such gossip was going around.

"You know you can tell me the truth. That's what friends are for," Ino said persuasively trying to learn some secrets.

Sakura merely glared daggers at her. She couldn't believe she was actually trying to get her to say otherwise.

The door to the room opened unexpectedly and Tsunade walked in. "Ino, I need to talk to Sakura for a moment alone," she said.

"Sure. I was just leaving," Ino lied as she walked out.

"So how are things going with you and Sasuke?" the Hokage inquired as soon as Ino was out of hearing.

Sakura felt offended. She couldn't believe that even her teacher was thinking so low of her. She was about to protest when Tsunade began to speak again.

"Did you two get in a fight or something?"

"Why do you ask that?" Sakura asked trying to sound indifferently.

"He came to my office earlier demanding that I end your punishment so that you can leave his house," she informed the pink haired kunoichi.

Sakura's eyes went wide. Betrayal and rejection written all over them. She couldn't believe that Sasuke was going as far as trying to get her out. Here she was thinking that they were making some progress, but this took them back to square one again. "I don't know why he would do such a thing." Sakura's voice was low as if trying to hide all emotion trying to escape from her.

"Are you sure you don't know?" Tsunade asked once again hoping that Sakura would actually give her a good answer this time.

"No."

*Sigh* "Both of you know full well that you are stuck together until the month's end. There's nothing else I can do or you will be imprisoned once again for betraying Konoha. I'm sorry."

"I know," Sakura said looking at the floor. Too many emotions were evident in her eyes for her to look up at her teacher.

"Well, I just wanted to know what was going on, but if you won't tell me. I can't do anything to try to help you out. I just wish you would trust me once more Sakura," Tsunade told Sakura as she left.

When her time in the hospital came to an end, Sakura dreaded going back to the Uchiha household. She wanted to barge in and demand to know what his problem was. At the same time, another part of her was afraid to even go for fear of being ridiculed by Sasuke.

Knowing she had to go there eventually, she made her way there. One thing was on her mind. She was going to end it all once and for all.

As soon as she was at the Uchiha household, she noticed that Sasuke was nowhere in sight. He was probably out training, Sakura assumed. Without wasting time, she header for the room she kept her belongings in and began to pack them away.

It was late evening and still Sasuke was not home. That was all she was waiting for; him. To say her good-bye. Her final good-bye for she would be imprisoned for leaving his house before her time was up.

Finally, she heard the door creak open and Sasuke come in. She stood up from the chair she had been sitting on and headed toward the door. Their eyes met. Both so empty yet so full of emotions.

"I'm leaving," Sakura said shortly.

Sasuke merely stood motionless and looked at her uncaringly.

"I know that's what you want. The Hokage told me that you went to see her."

Silence.

"I know that if I leave I will be imprisoned once again but it's better than being here. At least in jail, I won't have to put up you and you will be free. You won't have to deal with me because I know that I'm just a burden to you. That's all I ever was. I realize, you never felt anything toward me." Her voice began to quiver at the end.

Trying to avoid breaking down, Sakura grabbed her bag and headed to the door. She was about to open the door and walk out when she felt Sasuke mere inches from her. His left hand forcing the door to shut close and his right had on Sakura's wrist to prevent her from leaving.

"I'm sorry," Sasuke said. "I don't know what I was thinking earlier. Don't go." Sasuke pleaded although it sounded more like a command. His breath sending goose bumps down Sakura's skin due to his proximity.

"I know you don't feel anything toward me so why? There is no reason for me to stay," Sakura reasoned. She turned around to come face to face with the last Uchiha. Her eyes were full of sadness and she felt like they were getting watery. What she saw in Sasuke's eyes surprised her.

Unlike before, his eyes were no longer the cold emotionless ones she knew. No, they were full of sadness like hers. Fear of forming bonds and once again losing them. Yes, it was fear. Underneath the tough guy act was a boy who was frightened due to the gloomy past that haunted him. For the first time in years, Uchiha Sasuke was allowing someone into his heart. The bonds he had first formed when he first became a part of Squad Seven were showing up once more.

* * *

***Sigh* I'm not quite satisfied with this chapter…but I hope you at least think is decent.**

**Anyway, **_**I need your opinion! **_**Is the Sasuke/Sakura relationship going to fast? Too slow? Just right?**

**Also I'm running out of ideas for SasuSaku moments, any suggestions? They can be for the upcoming chapter or later on the story.**

**If you have any questions about what has happened up until now, go ahead and ask me and I'll get back to you as soon as possible. **

**Please review and tell me what you think.**


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